Two Livermore Daycare Employees Arrested for Using Swaddling to Abuse Babies

The Livermore Police Department on Wednesday announced the arrests of two employees of a preschool that was shut down in March by the state for care violations.

Universal Preschool, known as Sunnyside Infant and Preschool, employees Nazila Sharaf, 35, of Dublin, and Lida Sharaf, 33, of Mountain House, were both arrested this week on three charges of felony child neglect and abuse and four counts of misdemeanor child neglect and abuse. 

Police said the two practiced dangerous types of swaddling that put at least seven infants and young children at risk of serious injury or death.

The press release (see attached PDF) states:

Two of the daycare facility employees were binding at least seven of the children’s upper torso and legs with blankets and other cloth type materials in order to restrict the child’s movement during naptimes. The suspects tightly wrapped the victims with blankets and other cloth material, which were secured with knots. The tightly wrapped cloth material restricted the victim’s ability to breathe comfortably and move their extremities. In several circumstances, the two suspects placed blankets over the faces of the victims. With the victim’s extremities restrained and a blanket over their face, the victims did not have the ability to remove blankets that could have potentially blocked their airway and their ability to breathe.

The victims ranged in age from 7 months to 11 months old. Detectives said that three of the victims suffered from upper respiratory conditions, which the two suspects were aware of.

Swaddling is a way of snuggly wrapping newborns, with their arms tucked inside the blanket, to comfort them but isn't usually recommended for older babies. Tightly binding a child with an upper respiratory condition seriously compromises a child’s ability to breathe, which could lead to death, police said.

With the victims bound and blankets placed over their face and head, the two limited in their ability to properly supervise these victims and identify that they were in distress.

"Detectives concluded their investigation and determined that this was not a case of mere swaddling but a case of abuse and neglect where the victims were being restrained," the press released stated.

[Related article: Jailed Day Care Owner Already Lost License Once]