HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah — Thirty-seven children may have been abused at daycare centers on Hill Air Force Base, families there were told in a briefing Tuesday.
Federal agents are investigating 12 staff members, though it wasn’t made clear how many are suspected of abuse or failing to report it. At least one agent from the Air Force Office of Special Investigations as well as Hill’s base commander, Col. Jeffrey G. Holland, provided the briefing to families. Details of that briefing were later relayed to FOX 13 News.
Wednesday afternoon, the base’s public affairs office issued a statement.
“This is an open and ongoing investigation at this time,” the statement read. “The [75th Air Base Wing] Command is fully aware of these serious allegations and is fully supporting this ongoing investigation, as well as reviewing current processes to ensure the appropriate measures are in place to safeguard our children.
“When we became aware of these allegations, we immediately removed the involved caregivers from the classroom and notified the parents of affected children. Properly caring for our Airmen and their families is of utmost importance to all of us here at Team Hill. Our Child Development Centers exist to provide children with a safe learning environment.”
Child Development Center – both East and West – are the formal names of the daycares. They care for children ages 6 weeks to 5 years from Air Force families.
Parents were notified in January or February if their child was a potential victim. At least some of the suspected abuse was captured on video, according to descriptions at the briefing. Parents were told at the briefing investigators are reviewing 70 days of the video going back to December.
One parent described having been shown a video of her child. The parent described her child’s head as ricocheting off a cot when a caregiver harshly put the child down for a nap.
Another parent said he was told his child was hit in the head, but he was frustrated that he wasn’t instructed on whether to look for symptoms of a brain injury.
The parents in the meeting were a mix of service personnel and civilian spouses. According to descriptions, the briefing lacked the typical military decorum, with parents complaining about the lack of candor from the Air Force and asking why administrators overseeing the child development centers haven’t been put on leave.
There was also at least one complaint about a letter Holland sent parents on Friday inviting them to Tuesday’s briefing. It did not include the word “abuse.”
Providing daycare for families is a point of pride in the Air Force. It’s considered a component of military readiness.
Some parents in the Tuesday briefing also asked for help finding childcare in civilian communities around Hill. It was unclear how many parents are unable to send their children to the base daycare centers because of under-staffing and how many parents are unwilling to send their kids back there.