Memramcook daycare owner's trial hears child tied to chair with shoelaces

The opening day of a former New Brunswick daycare owner's assault trial heard that Celine Lang allegedly tied a child to a chair with shoelaces, pushed the same child for jumping on a mattress and threw a glass of water in the face of another child to "calm him down."

Lang, 58, faces a total of 14 charges, including charges of assault against 12 children in her daycare.

She is also charged with assault and assault with a weapon — a flower pot — against an employee at Couvée de la Vallée daycare in Memramcook, N.B.

• Memramcook daycare operator charged with assaulting children, worker
• Former daycare operator facing 14 assault charges in Memramcook

Lang was accompanied by her husband Daniel Lang at the trial at the Court of Queen's Bench in Moncton on Monday.

Former employee Josée Delarosbil testified about an alleged incident on Sept. 30, 2014. 

Delarosbil said after a disagreement, Lang grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her against the wall while Delarosbil had a nine-month-old baby in her arms.

That incident led Delarosbil to call police, who opened an investigation.

​'Inappropriate measures'

Delarosbil and three other daycare employees told the RCMP about what they thought were "inappropriate measures" used by Lang to discipline children, said RCMP Const. Kevin Tremblay.

Delarosbil said that over the 18 months she worked at Couvée de la Vallée, she witnessed several incidents involving young children in Lang's care.

Delarosbil said Lang once pushed a child who was jumping on a mattress, and he fell down, knocking his head against the door frame.

"I felt really bad for the little kid. I was actually scared. And I was mad that it happened," said Delarosbil.

She also alleged that Lang tied that same child to a chair with shoelaces several times, leaving marks on his stomach.

She said she often witnessed Lang biting children to discipline them, and several times pinning down a child to the ground under blankets to shut her up.

The day after the alleged assault on Delarosbil, four employees failed to show up for work in the morning.

School district investigates

The Francophone South School District then opened its own investigation into the case, which led to the eventual closure of the daycare.

Charline Morrison and Marie-Claude Dussault of the school district testified that Lang denied accusations against her but did admit to throwing a glass of water in a child's face to "calm him down," allegedly describing the child as spoiled.

Officials with the school district said 15 of the children were pulled out of the daycare by their parents the same day.

Lang had previously decided to be tried by judge and jury, but the court was told Monday morning the defendant changed her mind and chose a judge-only trial.

The case was before Justice Jean-Paul Ouellette.