“Aunt Dani’s Room” was frightened by the children who were the victims of the educational coordinator, who was arrested on charges of torture in a daycare center in Copacabana.

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Reports indicate that the Office of the Pedagogical Coordinator was feared by students. The room, known as “Aunt Danny’s room,” was used to leave children locked alone in the dark, as punishment.

– This “Aunt Dani’s room” was a torture chamber. This was the place the children were more afraid to go than ever. Reports indicate that it was a dark and closed room, says delegate Maria Luisa, who listened to the students’ parents. The children were not listened to because they were too young. In each of them, the delegate highlighted the feeling of helplessness:

— You leave your child confident that he is cared for and nourished, and then you find yourself facing a shock that came from outside. Sometimes it takes a while to figure out what’s going on. It’s complicated – says the representative.

The attacks occurred throughout 2024, but the case did not reach the police until May of this year, following a complaint filed by a mother about her son suffocating. The signs were not very clear. The child refused to eat, lost weight, no longer wanted to go to school, and showed fear when talking about “Auntie Dani.” When she found the boy’s behavior strange, she requested images from the institution’s surveillance cameras and found the assaults on her son.

The images are distressing, according to DCAV deputy delegate Maria Luisa Machado, and show the attacks not only on the boy, but also on other children who studied there:

— This coordinator did not accept that the child did not want to eat. She put food into the child’s mouth and the child vomited it, then put it back in a way that caused the child to choke. The blouse that was dirty was also rubbed on this child’s face. It was a very painful experience, and the child began to refuse food, says the representative.

After photos revealed the attacks, Daniele was fired from her job last year, but she began working at another day care home, in Mayer, where she was found and arrested yesterday. The police have not yet received reports of cases occurring in this unit, but they do not rule out this possibility.

As the investigation into the Copacabana day care center progressed, other officials filed similar reports. At least four children, between the ages of 4 and 6, were identified as victims.

According to the police, in addition to Daniele – accused of pulling hair, suffocating and isolating students – five other employees who knew about the attacks were accused of torture, in the form of omission, including the director of the school unit.

The delegate’s instructions to officials are to pay attention to details when dealing with children:

— Notice if any behavior is beyond normal, if the child is eating, if he reacts strangely to any staff member, if he reports body aches.