AUSTIN, Texas — An Austin family claims their worst nightmare came true on a live video feed of their toddler's day care.
In a lawsuit obtained by KVUE, Alexis Dominguez said her 2-year-old son was being cared for by The Children's Courtyard in southwest Austin.
The father of the 2-year-old checked on his son through the day care's live feed in July 2023 and saw an employee of the day care sitting next to his son during naptime.
The lawsuit then claims the employee was seen smothering the 2-year-old with a blanket to keep him quiet while other children slept. The employee then pulls the covers off and repeatedly slaps the toddler in the face.
According to the lawsuit, the father immediately drove to the day care and reported what happened. The incident was also reported to law enforcement, but the suit claims the employee was only suspended for one day after the alleged incident.
The family's attorney, Russell Button, said it's a situation that would leave long-lasting effects on the child and the family.
"His family is working through the process of healing from this traumatic experience as best as possible, and they're still on that journey," Button said.
An independent investigation by Texas Health and Human Services (HHS) found sufficient evidence to support physical abuse and neglectful supervision, according to the lawsuit. Dominguez is seeking $1 million in damages.
KVUE checked the daycare center's compliance history on the HHS website. Online records show that investigations conducted by the agency detailed separate incidents where children were left unsupervised, incidents were not reported, a lack of competency on the job, and a situation where children were dancing on tables and taking off their clothes.
Button said the family did their research before enrolling their son at the center, but they were not aware of the prior violations.
"Unfortunately – and this is the reason why we're trying to always create awareness for other parents – a lot of parents don't know how to get access to this HHS public website to find prior violations," Button said. "Then to be able to make informed decisions as to where to send their kid ... This looked like a great day care on the face and presented well until they started to see these red flags."
The Children's Courtyard responds
Officials with the day care gave KVUE the following statement regarding the lawsuit:
“The health and safety of the children we serve is our highest priority. While we can confirm that the employee(s) in question are no longer employed at The Children’s Courtyard, and we consistently inform and partner with all relevant regulatory authorities, we cannot comment further on ongoing litigation.”
Other reported incidents at The Children's Courtyard
The day care, which operates multiple locations in Texas and several other states, has faced other controversial incidents.
Another recent lawsuit claims a 3-year-old suffered a febrile seizure in 2022 after the location in New Braunfels "failed to properly monitor her child's health and neglected to inform her about his deteriorating condition."
In 2017, two employees were fired from The Children's Courtyard in North Texas after two employees were caught on camera throwing a toddler to the ground.
The toddler's mother watched the entire incident on a live feed while at work, according to KVUE's sister station, WFAA.