Former daycare owner accused of assaulting 6 children

A former daycare owner is facing eight charges of assaulting children who used to attend her Harvey Station child-care centre.

But officials with the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development won't say when the daycare closed its doors or if inspectors were concerned for children's safety.

Police say the charges were laid against 32-year-old Mary Jana McCormack on Nov. 3 after a five-month investigation into allegations of assault at Laugh & Learn Children's Centre.

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Those charges involve six different children who went to the daycare, RCMP Const. Hans Ouellette said.

He wouldn't discuss the nature of the allegations against McCormack, who was arrested in July.

"Further details of the investigation will be revealed in court," he said.

McCormack hasn't entered pleas to the charges. She will appear in court again on Dec. 13 at 9:30 a.m.

Daycare removed from registry list

Provincial officials confirmed the daycare no longer has a licence to operate, but refused to say more about why it closed, citing "privacy concerns."

Education Minister Brian Kenny — who has the power to shut down a facility — said all complaints about daycares are "taken seriously and followed-up on immediately."

Parents of children who attend the daycare receive letters "about the investigation and as much information is provided as possible while respecting privacy rules."

"The department cannot comment on any of the specifics as it relates to any investigation or legal proceedings," Kenny said in an emailed statement.

If a daycare is shut down, Kenny said, the online daycare inspection registry is updated to reflect that.

But in the case of Laugh & Learn, the daycare was removed from the online registry without any explanation or indication that it lost its licence.

According to a version of the web page archived by Google, Laugh & Learn Afterschool Program had 24 licensed spaces for children to attend preschool and after-school programs as of March 2016.

Summaries of the daycare's inspections show several violations during the past three years, including missing proof of full background checks for staff and volunteers in 2014 and 2015.

The daycare's Facebook page bills it as the only licensed daycare and after school program in the Harvey and McAdam area, offering bilingual services and New Brunswick early child-care curriculum.

A phone number listed on that Facebook page is out of service.

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