A new civil lawsuit is heading toward Busy Bees and its shuttered BrightPath Avon daycare, with attorneys alleging the company led parents to believe it was actively monitoring security cameras while a former teacher sexually assaulted multiple young children inside a classroom. The suit would mark the 11th lawsuit tied to the case. Seven earlier lawsuits centered on the criminal allegations against former employee Jan Carlos Berrios-Otero.
According to WTNH, attorneys representing families say Busy Bees led them to believe the daycare's cameras would be actively watched to protect their children. Attorney Eric Schoenberg told the station that families chose BrightPath Avon specifically because they believed someone would be monitoring their kids, and that evidence gathered so far indicates Busy Bees failed to do so. “This lawsuit will be markedly different from everything that is currently pending and represents a significant next step in this continually evolving litigation,” Schoenberg said, per the station's report. Attorney Sarah Klein added that accountability and transparency matter, saying she was tired of hearing about failures to protect children.
Expanding Legal Exposure for Busy Bees
The planned filing would be the 11th lawsuit against Busy Bees, the corporate parent of the former BrightPath Avon center, with attorneys alleging the daycare failed to monitor cameras. NBC Connecticut reported that families allege they specifically chose the facility based on assurances that the security system would safeguard their children.
Civil claims allege that maintaining cameras nobody was actively watching created a false sense of security for parents.
Video Evidence and Criminal Charges
The criminal case against Berrios-Otero, 29, stems from classroom surveillance footage. Police arrest warrants released in April detailed video from March 2026 showing Berrios-Otero lying beside a 4-year-old child under a blanket for more than 45 minutes during nap time while manipulating the child's body and using a mobile phone, according to Daily Voice. The footage became central evidence after parents noticed physical injuries on the child, the outlet reported.
Berrios-Otero was arrested on April 1 and initially charged with fourth-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor, per WTNH. New arrest warrants later charged him with sexually assaulting six young children across seven separate incidents, and he has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges. Per Patch, he now faces counts including fourth-degree sexual assault, risk of injury to a minor, and aggravated sexual assault of a minor, and remains held on a combined $3.6 million bond. Patch reported that he was scheduled to return to court October 20 in Torrington Superior Court.
Police have identified six victims, while attorneys representing some of the families say they have spoken with more than 100 potentially impacted families, according to WTNH. The planned lawsuit is expected to be filed after Tuesday's criminal hearing on the pending charges against Berrios-Otero, the station reported.
Warning Signs Before the Video Surfaced
Police warrant documents described a parent noticing sudden behavioral changes in their child — including bedwetting, emotional outbursts, and lashing out — shortly after the child was placed in Berrios-Otero's classroom in 2025, Daily Voice reported. Victims' attorneys argue daycare supervisors failed to notice or act on those warning signs before the video footage was ever audited.
Closure, Regional Reach and Political Pressure
BrightPath Avon surrendered its childcare license to the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood and permanently closed its two-building facility on May 1, accelerating its closure after additional sexual assault charges were filed, according to FOX 61. The abrupt shutdown forced enrolled families to seek emergency childcare through state referral programs, the station reported.
Berrios-Otero had been employed at the Avon center since January 2022 and also filled temporary shifts at three other Connecticut BrightPath locations — in West Hartford, Simsbury, and Windsor — Daily Voice reported. BrightPath said it notified law enforcement and state licensing agencies about every center where he had worked.
In July, Connecticut Republican state lawmakers joined affected families at the State Capitol to ask the state Attorney General to investigate BrightPath and seek license revocations across its 24 Connecticut locations, per NBC Connecticut. State regulators responded that individual due process requirements prevent broad, simultaneous revocations of separately licensed sites, the station noted.
From Educational Playcare to a Global Brand
The Avon center was part of the BrightPath brand. Busy Bees entered North America in 2017 through Canada before expanding rapidly via U.S. acquisitions, and the company now operates roughly 1,000 early learning centers across 10 countries, including more than 80 North American centers under the BrightPath brand, according to corporate records.
