Lawsuit: Young boys physically abused, locked in dark closet by staff at Methuen Children’s Center

A Methuen day care is being sued for allegedly locking two young boys in a dark supply closet, physically assaulting them, and denying them access to food in their lunchboxes.

The civil complaint was filed Oct. 11 in Essex Superior Court against The Children’s Center of the Faith United Methodist Church. The boys’ mothers, Dyanarah Fermin, of Lawrence, and Karina Rodriguez, of Lowell, detailed the abuse their sons allegedly faced at the day care in the complaint.

Fermin’s son is 4 years old. He attended The Children’s Center from March to August 2022, during which time he was frequently locked in a dark supply closet that employees said contained “rats” and “monsters” as punishment, according to the complaint. Employees allegedly struck him with a stick they called “the teacher’s stick,” pinched and scratched him, and would physically restrain him by grabbing him until his arms and legs could not move. They also didn’t intervene when he was physically and emotionally bullied by peers, the lawsuit says. According to the suit, when he asked to use the restroom he was locked in the room with the lights off, and he was not permitted to eat some of the food his mother packed for him in his lunchbox.

Rodriguez’s son is also 4 years old, and he attended The Children’s Center from October 2021 to August 2022. He allegedly received much of the same treatment: being locked in the supply closet, where staff said there were monsters, being struck by “the teacher’s stick,” and other physical abuse. When the boy screamed to be let out of the closet, at least one employee told him to “shut the **** up,” the suit says, and he was often called a “baby” by staff. They also called him “disgusting” when he asked to use the restroom, according to the complaint.

The Children’s Center, located at 35 Lowell St., calls itself “a loving, warm, nurturing, and safe environment for children” on Facebook. “Each child is viewed as a unique person with an individual pattern and timing of growth and development…staff are very sensitive to all children’s needs and are caring and nurturing.”

The Children’s Center is an ongoing ministry of the Christ United Methodist Church of Lawrence and adheres to “Judeo-Christian ethics and traditions.” 

Defendants include The Children’s Center, along with individual employees: the president, directors, and employees of the center. The accusations against them include battery, assault, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and invasion of privacy. 

The boys are reportedly now struggling with PTSD, anxiety, aggression, insomnia, night terrors, and toilet training, none of which they faced before the abuse, and their mothers are experiencing emotional distress, according to the lawsuit.

The mothers’ attorney, Matthew Fogelman, said he is looking forward to having justice be served for the women. 

“I think the complaint sort of speaks for itself, but we obviously take this extremely seriously and I’m looking forward to helping the families,” he said. 

He noted that The Children’s Center has not responded to the complaint. An employee who answered the phone on Monday declined to comment on the situation.   

The plaintiffs are seeking damages for out-of-pocket medical expenses, medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages, and mental and emotional stress. 

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