Daycare workers are arrested for ‘running a childFIGHT ring’ in South Carolina after being caught on camera encouraging children between three and four years old to hit and hit each other

Two South Carolina daycare workers were arrested after being accused of running a gruesome “child fighting ring” after their disturbing actions were caught on camera.

It is alleged that they incite minors between the ages of three and four to hit and hit each other.

Ericka Sherai’ Jones. 27, and Serena Caldwell, 56, were accused of encouraging at least 14 minors to fight each other at Kids Unlimited at Prosperity in Newberry County, South Carolina.

The Newberry County Sheriff’s Office arrested both teachers Thursday on charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and unlawful conduct toward a child.

The pair went to court for a hearing which they were granted on the condition that they had no contact with the victims and any minors who might need care.

The arrest came after a child at daycare last month told a parent they were being asked to hit each other as punishment.

Jones (pictured) and Caldwell have been charged with running a ‘child fighting ring’ after they were caught on camera inciting minors between the ages of three and four to punch and hit each other

The arrest came after a child at daycare last month told a parent they were being asked to hit each other as punishment

Security camera footage later showed Jones and Caldwell telling at least fourteen children to “hit, push, shove, and hit other children at Kids Unlimited as a means of ‘punishment or to entice them to follow the rules.’

They “encouraged and directed other students to fight or engage in violence against other students and allowed the violence to continue without correction,” Newberry County Sheriff Lee Foster said. WISTV.

‘What did you think?’ Foster asked incredulously when talking about the incident.

“I have no idea who would think that this would in any way be appropriate to encourage three- and four-year-old children to participate in violent acts, regardless of what they thought it would do.”

The sheriff’s office has not yet released any footage related to the childcare teachers’ alleged misconduct.

Security camera footage later showed Jones and Caldwell telling at least 14 children to “hit, push, shove and hit other children at Kids Unlimited as” a means of punishment or to entice them to follow the rules.

When the daycare learned about the incident from a concerned parent, the daycare immediately terminated both Jones and Caldwell and notified police.

“The two teachers under investigation for a daycare incident have turned themselves in to the Newberry County Detention Center,” the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Caldwell faces 15 counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and 15 counts of unlawful conduct toward a child. Jones faces 14 counts of the same indictment.

Caldwell has also been charged with hitting a child with a box of baby wipes, police added. Jones may have recorded the incident on her phone.

“It was a situation where they participated by encouraging the kids,” Foster said.

“They kind of saw it as something that was maybe almost equivalent to a sporting event, trying to motivate the kids to participate in it,” he said.

The sheriff’s office has not yet released any footage related to the childcare teachers’ alleged misconduct

Caldwell (pictured) faces 15 counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and 15 counts of unlawful conduct toward a child

“We’ve had daycare workers who have abused children, and daycare workers who may have been punished a little too far, but nothing like this,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like that in my life.”

He added that the daycare center had no complicity in the incident.

“The childcare center did exactly what the law says, and perhaps even more: they went above and beyond,” he said.

“When they found out, they weren’t going to handle this on their own.”

A judge granted Jones a $56,000 bond and Caldwell a $60,000 bond Thursday afternoon.

They were released under conditions that include not contacting the victims in the case, not contacting minors who may need care, and not leaving the state until they receive permission from an attorney.