News

9 months after reported abuse, no charges against day care worker

A Hingham father is still looking for answers months after allegations of abuse were first reported inside a day care.

"I don't know. It's disheartening. It really hurt,” said Joe Sheehan.

Nine months ago, Joe Sheehan was told his daughter may have been the victim of abuse at the hands of a day care worker.

Sheehan and his wife then spent 14 hours at Boston Children's Hospital making sure their then 10-month-old daughter wasn't hurt by her day care worker.

In November, Boston 25 News reported about the employee fired from Bright Horizons Daycare inside the Hingham Blue Cross Blue Shield building. The daycare told the family their daughter was one of seven children who may have been abused by the worker.

"They told us she had been shaken, force fed, rocked aggressively to go to sleep,” said Sheehan.

Although the worker was quick fired by Bright Horizons, she has never been charged with a crime. Nearly a year later, Sheehan still wants to know why.

"If I shook my daughter or did anything she's been accused of, I'd be in handcuffs instantly,” he said.

Boston 25 News reached out to the Plymouth County District Attorney's Office to get an update on the investigation. They referred us to the Hingham Police Department. A spokesperson told us that the case is still working its way through the courts and that they could not release any information.

The Department of Children and Families concluded its investigation and provided the results to the family. DCF said it found enough evidence to support allegations of neglect but not enough to support charges of physical abuse.

"Supposedly there's not enough evidence but with all the witnesses and written statements that I saw, that's evidence right there,” said Sheehan.

The Hingham father said investigators told him they considered bringing charges, but ran into a problem with the court system.

“They [investigators] said that they were bringing it in front of a clerk in Hingham court, then the clerk didn't like how it was worded so it was thrown out,” he said.

Sheehan's daughter will be 2 later this year and shows no signs of any permanent damage. But Sheehan continues to speak out for his little girl, who is simply too young to speak for herself.

"I want to see them brought to court. I should be able to face them in court,” he said.