A Queens couple who operated a daycare out of their Jamaica Estates home have been indicted on multiple counts of abuse towards nine infants and toddlers. According to the Queens District Attorney's Office, Ilya Davydov and Ksenia Davydov are facing charges that include attempted assault and endangering the welfare of a child. The indictment comes after a tip led to an investigation that uncovered disturbing surveillance footage.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz described the charges as "a working parent’s worst nightmare." In a poignant statement, Katz, a mother herself, empathized with the diligence parents exercise in selecting child care, expecting, at a bare minimum, their children's safety to be secure. This trust was violated at the Davydov's daycare where cameras recorded instances of children being treated with cruelty that defies belief. "As a mother of two boys, I understand the extreme care that parents take in researching and selecting day cares for their children" Katz said, underlining the profound betrayal these allegations represent.
The actions detailed in the indictment include Ksenia Davydov allegedly forcing a soiled diaper into an 11-month-old's mouth and dropping a toddler onto furniture with enough force to detach the child's cochlear implants. Ilya Davydov is accused of even more acts of violence, such as hitting an infant in the head and kicking a 19-month-old in the back. The couple's arraignment took place before Supreme Court Justice Gia Morris, with a follow-up court date set for February 21.
If convicted of the top count, the Davydovs could face a sentence of up to 1 1/3 to four years in prison for each count of attempted assault in the second degree. This legal repercussion, although significant, fails to encapsulate the severity of the betrayal of trust and the potential long-term impact on the young victims. Katz affirmed her office's commitment to obtaining justice for the child victims and their families, as stated in the charges.
The abuse first came to light in December 2023 after the police, acting on an anonymous report, partnered with the state Office of Children and Family Services to inspect and then shut down the facility. A massive amount of video was recovered during a search, which led to the painstaking process of identifying the children involved and cataloging the abuse they endured. Detectives of the NYPD Queens Child Abuse Squad, in collaboration with Assistant District Attorney Chrystina Lopera of the District Attorney’s Special Victims Bureau, conducted the investigation that brought these harrowing findings to light.
