A former assistant teacher at Tutor Time in Massapequa is accused of assaulting a 3-year-old child.
Police say 21-year-old Sydney Forbes of Copiague was working at the daycare on Grand Avenue when the alleged incident happened on October 5. According to prosecutors, surveillance video shows Forbes chasing the child before grabbing and squeezing the child’s shoulder. The child was left with red marks on their arm and shoulder. Prosecutors say the child later told their mother, “My teacher hurt me.”
A former coworker, Nasia Martin, says she was stunned by the allegations. Martin attended Forbes’ court appearance and described her as a good teacher.
Tutor Time released the following statement:
Nothing matters more to us than the safety and well-being of the children in our care. All of our staff members are expected to uphold our high standards of care, and we do not tolerate any deviation from those standards. We are aware of reports that a former assistant teacher at our school has been arrested. When a family raised a concern on October 5, we removed the individual from the classroom that same day and placed her on leave. We cooperated fully with local police, state licensing and Child Protective Services, and will continue supporting the investigation in any way we can.
Forbes has pleaded not guilty to assault and endangering the welfare of a child. She was released with an ankle monitor and is due back in court on November 20.