Parents want answers after 17-month-old bitten in face at daycare

HUNTING PARK (WPVI) -- Sammy Salgado and his wife, Veronica Figueroa, tell us they want to know how their 17-month-old daughter ended up with bite marks on her face.

The couple's daughter attends Brightside Academy, a childcare provider in the 100 block of West Erie Avenue, where they allege she incurred her injuries.

"They didn't really know how they got on her," said Salgado. "They told us another kid bit her, that's as far as that went."

Doctors tell the parents although the bites are not serious, they undoubtedly were very painful at the time it happened.

"We will get to the bottom of this cause I want answers for why my daughter's face, you know, why she got bit multiple times," said Figueroa.

What's even more disturbing is the parents say it is the fifth time their child has been bitten at the daycare, apparently by the same child.

"We're just concerned about what's been going on at the daycare, cause it's been happening too many times and nothing's been done about it," said Salgado.

Action News went to the daycare center to get answers, but were told to call the corporate office when we asked to speak to a manager or supervisor.

Brightside Academy Divisional Vice President Penny Swift tells us by phone they are aware of the incident and it is under investigation.

When we asked about the four other biting incidents the family alleges, Swift stated she was sticking to her original statement.

Inspection records we found on the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services' website indicate there was another incident in which a child was left unsupervised last March. That child ended up cutting her own hair.

The violation and others cited in inspections indicated they had been corrected. But the parents of the 17-month-old say they've had enough.

"I'm concerned with the staff of who I left my child with, who's supposed to watching her while I'm at work," said Figueroa.

If you would like to know how your childcare provider fared during random inspections by the Department of Human Services, click here.