Oakland daycare is closed after staff WHIPPED children, with owner meting out sadistic punishment to children she did not like

An Oakland daycare owner has been banned from ever working with children in California again after dishing out cruel punishments to kids in her care.

Cynthia Jackson Burns spanked, whipped and inflicted corporal punishment on young children in her care at SmallTrans Bears daycare center in downtown Oakland, state investigators wrote in a report.

She also allegedly allowed other staff in her facility to also verbally and physically abuse the children. 

Regulators then suspended her license and shut down the daycare center in July, and a criminal investigation into Jackson Burns actions is currently ongoing.

Cynthia Jackson Burns has been banned from ever working with children again after California state regulators found she dished out cruel punishment to the infants in her care

Parents were first alerted about the alleged abuse via an anonymous text message.

It said: Children are being pinched, thrown around, grabbed aggressively and their belongings are being thrown around as well.

Staff were also accused of punishing crying toddlers by smacking them with their bare hands, using a wooden spoon or by whipping them with wet towels and leaving them alone in a dark bathroom, according to the San Francisco Standard.

Jackson Burns also allegedly once drew blood by hitting a girl in the mouth and pressured an employee to lie by saying the child had fallen, said the anonymous texter - who was later revealed to be a parent.

The texter went on to say that if Jackson Burns dislikes a child, she would feed them cold food.

Within days of parents receiving the texts, most of the daycares several dozen families pulled their children out.

Jackson Burns then tried to stem the tide in a virtual meeting at which she blamed the allegations on someone trying to ruin the daycares reputation, like a disgruntled ex-staffer, the Standard reports. 

Cynthia Jackson Burns spanked, whipped and inflicted corporal punishment on young children in her care at SmallTrans Bears daycare center in downtown Oakland, the investigators found

But the first signs of trouble actually began two years before, shortly after Jackson Burns took over a long-standing daycare.

State regulators had received complaints that staff members were being disrespectful and physically rough with children, but after interviewing Jackson Burns, other employees and parents, the  Community Care and Licensing Division reported in August 2022 that it could not substantiate the claims.

Still, informal complaints continued to spring up online in parenting forums and review sites.

One mother, who gave the center one star, said she chose the facility due to the convenient location and promising initial impression.

The owner, Cynthia, seemed welcoming, and my daughter was excited about the space and toys. However, our experience quickly soured when my daughter disclosed being spanked by a teacher.

She claimed Jackson Burns then deflected the blame by saying the toddler needed therapy, which raised additional red flags and showed a lack of understanding.

The anonymous texts in the early summer came soon after, naming enough staff members that parents were able to find out more for themselves - with junior staffers helping them piece things together and offering visual clues, like a photo of the wooden spoon allegedly used to spank toddlers.

That really freaked me out, an unidentified mother told The Standard, noting the spoon was in the assortment of stuff in the background, and there are these Minnie Mouse shoes next to it.

Parents said they were shocked by the accusations, as junior staffers helped them piece things together with visual clues from inside the daycare

The Community Care and Licensing Division - the state agency that regulates childcare providers - finally stopped by for a surprise visit on June 18, but cut their visit short due to time constraints, the Standard reports.

When officials came back later that month, they issued four citations, including for failure to fill out sleep logs to confirm that babies are monitored at frequent intervals and for failure to test for lead in the drinking water.

The regulator went on to cite the daycare for even more failures in July .

It said that staff were leaving children and in the toddler bathroom as punishment for misbehaving or crying, describing such actions as an immediate risk to the health, safety and personal rights of children in care.

Based on interviews, staff members were hitting, pushing, pulling, yelling, intimidating, calling the children inappropriate names while in care, the report also found.

Children and babies were sleeping on the floor during nap times without available cribs or portable cribs, and mandatory classroom ratios were not being met.

One staff member was even employed without a criminal record clearance, and other staff were unqualified. 

As a criminal investigation into Jackson Burns actions ramps up, some parents are also considering bringing civil lawsuits against the former daycare owner, the Standard reports.

Some said they were unaware that California state law gave them access to the facility, with one mom pointing out that the pandemic made her accustomed to keeping her distance by dropping children off at school at the front door.

That probably created a blind spot for abuse to happen, the mother said. And it makes me angry that kids got hurt because of that.

DailyMail.com has reached out to Jackson Burns for comment.