A family in Fort Worth has filed a civil lawsuit against Arka Risinger Educators LLC, alleging that the facility allowed a substitute teacher to physically assault a four-year-old child. The legal action claims the daycare operated in a manner that permitted a physical altercation to escalate into an attack on the young victim.
State investigators compiled a timeline of the incident using footage from the facility's security cameras, which captured the events described in the court filings.
According to the lawsuit, the incident occurred at 4:30 p.m. when classes were combined as morning staff departed. The dispute began when another child struck the four-year-old while the classroom teacher, Del Luna, was not looking. Del Luna intervened by picking up the child who initiated the contact, who was identified as the son of a substitute teacher named Johnson.
Johnson entered the room, took her son, and remained in the classroom to observe the class while Del Luna stepped out.
The filings state that Johnson then grabbed the four-year-old, shook him, and pushed him away. After speaking to her son, who moved toward the victim again and fell, Johnson allegedly grabbed the child again, yelled at him, and threw him to the ground. Security footage reportedly shows Del Luna returning to the room and observing the situation without intervening.
The victim sustained scratches and bruises and was picked up by his parents in a state of distress. The family was told by staff that the children had simply gotten into a fight that was ended by the staff.
