Preschool director ‘threatened two four-year-olds with a knife’
A New Jersey preschool administrator has been charged after allegedly threatening two misbehaving students with a knife.
Adetokunbo Akinnaso, 64, of Sicklerville, was the director of the Dawn To Dusk Christian Childcare and Learning Center in Plainfield when the two four-year-olds were brought to her office for disciplinary reasons earlier this year, Union County prosecutors said.
Prosecutors say she brandished a knife and threatened to harm the children if they continued misbehaving.
The children were not harmed, officials said.
Akinnaso has been charged with two counts of cruelty or neglect of children. She has been removed from her post and could face up to three years in prison if convicted on both counts.
It’s not known if Akinnaso has retained an attorney. The preschool, which serves students through age 13, has declined comment.
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Ronald Bolandi, the interim schools superintendent in Plainfield, said the city’s childcare centers are privately owned and the district does not hire staff, but it does provide resources for students to attend the centers.
“In order to ensure the safety of our students, the center director was removed immediately and will not be returning to the preschool,” Bolandi said in a statement.
“This requirement was necessary in order for the owner to continue her contract with the district.”
