Bleach Sprayed in a Child’s Face. Tape Over Another’s Mouth: N.Y.C. Daycare Workers Accused of Abusing Toddlers

Three individuals have been charged in connection with alleged endangerment of children at a prestigious New York daycare.

Evelyn Vargas, 47, Shakia Henley, 36, and Latia Townes, 23, have been arrested in connection with alleged abuse that took place at a Manhattan branch of Bright Horizons, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office confirms to PEOPLE.   

Up to nine children — all of whom were between the ages of one and two years old at the time of the incidents — were allegedly victimized by the three, per the DA’s office. 

Vargas, who is facing several charges of assault in addition to the child welfare endangerment offense, is accused of placing packing tape across the face of one toddler “ear to ear,” covering the child’s mouth in an incident sometime in January. In doing so, the complaint alleges, Vargas covered the child’s mouth and part of her nose, at which point the child turned red and began to cry, according to a complaint compiled by the DA’s office and reviewed by PEOPLE.

Vargas is also accused of dragging a toddler by her hair for a few feet in January, causing the child “to be in pain”, and of dragging at least three toddlers by their arms between September 2023 and February of this year, per the DA’s office.

She also allegedly force-fed two children ginger shots, stuffed their mouths with tissue and restrained them to chairs on several occasions.  

Townes is accused of hitting three toddlers in the head with a metal bottle on several occasions between October 2024 and January 2025 at the facility, the DA’s office alleged, while Henley is accused in the complaint of spraying a toddler in the face from a bottle that contains soap mixed with bleach in an incident between January and February of this year. 

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

Vargas has been charged with nine counts of endangering the welfare of a child, four counts of attempted assault, one count of strangulation and one count of assault, according to the DA’s office. Her lawyer declined to comment on the charges when contacted by PEOPLE.

Henley, who has been charged with one count of child endangerment, will be pleading not guilty, her lawyer tells PEOPLE.

Townes’ attorney was not immediately available for comments.

Bright Horizons at Columbus Circle did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comments.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.