In a News 12 exclusive, another frustrated family spoke out Thursday, after News 12 was the first to report that a 30-year-old man was arrested and charged with sexual abuse at a Brooklyn day care.

“We were paying [for childcare] thinking that our kids were safe, and they really weren’t,” said the mother, who asked not to be identified.

Video sent only to News 12 showed Devonte Brown being escorted in handcuffs.

Investigators said Brown was a teacher at The Learning Factory in Bushwick, and he spent about a year and a half sexually assaulting at least four girls under the age of 10.

The unidentified mother said Brown was her son’s teacher. While she admitted that she is not sure if her child is a sex abuse victim, she claimed her son had scratches and changes in behavior.

“He was really frustrated and emotional, not wanting to come in [to day care],” said the mother. “[My son] would tell me that he’d be getting hit.”

Brown was charged Wednesday and is behind bars.

As for The Learning Factory, signs posted on the door read “temporarily closed due to a Department of Health mandate.”

In a statement to News 12 Thursday, a DOH spokesperson wrote, “All New York City parents deserve to know their children are safe when they send their kids to day care. The allegations here are disturbing and will not be tolerated by the NYC Health Department or any of the regulatory agencies for childcare centers in the city. The NYC Health Department closed the infant/toddler and preschool childcare programs in May and July of last year, and those programs remain closed to this day.”

The spokesperson said the site was closed on May 15, 2025 and July 30, 2025, respectively, due to insufficient staff and inadequate supervision – and the programs were not authorized to reopen since the closure.

“There was no notice,” said the mother. “We were just dropping our kids to school, and it’s like, ‘Oh, um, we’re closed downstairs. Something’s happening today.’”

Multiple parents, as well as a former employee, told News 12 that as recently as August 2025, children were often moved to an apartment in the complex upstairs or to a teacher’s home nearby.

“[My son] was removed from [The Learning Factory] to try and avoid the Department of Health,” said the mother.

The DOH spokesperson confirmed that they received complaints that children were being moved to different apartments.

“You can basically just send your kid to school and go work, and you really don’t know what’s happening, what’s going on behind closed doors,” said the mother.

News 12 reached out to The Learning Factory again Thursday to give them an opportunity to share their side of the story. However, once again, a woman said by phone that the owner, Rickya Tillery, had no comment.

ACS released the folloowing statement:

“The safety and well-being of NYC’s children is our top priority. We collaborated closely with NYPD and DOHMH to investigate these reprehensible allegations.”