Westport Day Care Teacher Accused Of Kicking Ball At Babies: PD

WESTPORT, CT — A teacher at a Westport day care center accused of moving kids around in an aggressive manner and kicking a ball at some babies was arrested Friday along with three staff members accused of failing to report the possible abuse or neglect, according to police.

In a news release, Police Lt. Dave Wolf said the department began investigating the possible abuse and/or neglect of infants at a local day care center in June. Police did not release the name of the center.

"It was alleged that a teacher in one of the infant classrooms moved the kids about in an aggressive manner, kicked a ball at some of the babies and left the children crying for extended periods of time," Wolf said in a news release.

According to Wolf, the teacher was later identified as Suzette Virgo, 44, of Bridgeport, and police said they obtained evidence supporting the accusations following an extensive investigation.

Police obtained a warrant for Virgo's arrest, who turned herself in at the Westport Police Department on Friday. She was charged with risk of injury to a child and released after posting a $50,000 bond.

Police also obtained evidence during their investigation that three day care center staff members were made aware of the possible abuse/neglect but failed to report it to the Department of Children and Family Services, which is required by law since all three staff members are mandated reporters, Wolf said.

According to Wolf, the three accused staff members were identified as 41-year-old Ayshia Jaeger of Norwalk, 42-year-old Ridhita Gupta, of Darien, and 24-year-old Kelleigh Cantiello, of Stratford.

All three women turned themselves in over the weekend at the Westport Police Department shortly after learning of warrants for their arrests. They were each charged with failure to report abuse or neglect by a mandated reporter and released after posting a $25,000 bond.