Story By: Ana Lacasa, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News

A mother and daughter who run a nursery allegedly forced the children to pull down their underpants and urinate on each and touch one another’s genitals while the pair watched.

Mother Ester Acosta, 55, and Rocio Perez Acosta, 31, who run the ‘Patito Feo’ (Ugly Duckling) nursery in Trujui, in Moreno, in the eastern Argentina province of Buenos Aires were arrested and charged with corruption of minors.

One of the three mothers who reported the case to the authorities told reporters that on 7th June she noticed changes in her son’s behaviour and asked him if anything had happened to him at the nursery.

She said that her son told her that his head had been pushed against a wall and she reported the case to the authorities five days later.

When she spoke to other mothers about the situation they also asked their children if they had also been victims of any kind of abuse in the nursery, saying: “Then, every kid started to talk about their own story and they always pointed to the same thing: abuse and being shouted at.”

Then another mother spoke to the other parents and she “told us that her children, eight and nine years old, were forced to play ‘Sapo Pepe’ (Toad Pepe), a game that consists of pulling down their trousers, exchanging underwear, urinating (on others) and touching (each other).”

Local media report the children were also made to touch one another’s genitals.

She added that the “teachers watched the scenes and sometimes even participated in them”.

The children were given psychological treatment and reportedly revealed they were forced to play the game. It is unclear how many children were subjected to the alleged abuse.

An investigation was launched and the two suspects were arrested. Ester Acosta is reportedly the headmistress of the nursery while her daughter is a teacher.

The charge of “corruption of a minor” means they can face between 10 and 15 years in prison if found guilty.

The case will continue with the children undergoing more tests while the suspects have reportedly refused to give statements.

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