Editor’s note: Since the publication of this story, Global News has confirmed the Circle Project Association cooperated with both the investigation by the Regina Police Service and the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education and was cleared of any wrongdoing in both cases.
Jada Windigo, the mother of two-year-old Ronin Ackachuck, is fighting for answers from a Regina daycare.
Windigo took to social media after she discovered unexplained marks all over his bodylast week. She claims her son got the marks while at Regina’s Circle Project daycare, located in North Central.
“I ran him a bath and … took his shirt off, I noticed like a bunch of marks on his back, his left rib, his left arm,” said Windigo. “I didn’t know what to do, so I called my mom, and immediately she told me to call the cops.”
Windigo filed a report with Regina Police Service (RPS) on May 31. The following day, she called the daycare to request information on what happened only to be told there was no report and that sometimes kids go home with a scratch or a bruise.
“That’s what got me upset because … this was more than a scratch or a bruise,” she said. “There’s more than one mark. There were three on his ribs. I think he had about eight marks on his back in total. He had a bruise on his head, it looked like somebody pulled his hair.”
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Windigo says her son Ronin enjoys climbing, jumping and playing on playground structures. She said he’s very loving and cuddly and enjoys watching Angry Birds and is a fan of Super Mario. Ronin is also non-verbal and is on the waitlist to be officially diagnosed with autism.
Even without an official diagnosis, Windigo said Ronin displays a lot of the signs.
“He didn’t know his name at six months and when he began playing with toys, he would flip his cars upside down and play with the wheels,” she said. “(He would) line up all his balls in size from smallest to biggest.”
Windigo said if her son wasn’t on the spectrum, he would have the ability to tell her when someone hurts him. The fact that he can’t is what frustrates her the most.
“It’s hard with my son not being able to communicate verbally and have a conversation.”
According to Windigo, the daycare at Circle Project is under investigation by the Regina Police Service, Child Protective Services and the Ministry of Education.
Global News reached out to all parties. In an email statement, RPS confirmed they were investigating a complaint but could not provide further comment. Circle Project said it was cooperating with the investigations and declined to comment further.
The Ministry of Education says it is working with the Ministry of Social Services on the investigation to ensure proper measures are in place for the continued safety and wellbeing of children at the daycare.
By speaking out, Windigo is not aiming to shut the daycare down but hopes to get answers on what happened that day.
“I just want to know what happened to my son and who did this to my son because I feel somebody needs to be held accountable for what happened,” she said.”It’s more than just a scratch and a bruise as they’re making it seem. It’s deeper than that. There was way more than that.”
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