Anila Qayyum (Prince WIlliam County Police Department)
Rabia Qayyum (Prince WIlliam County Police Department)WOODBRIDGE, Va. -
Child Protective Services in Prince William County got a tip about a home-based daycare in the 14900 block of Abilene Way with very little supervision and they moved in.
When they arrived, they found 21 children, ages ranging from three months to four years old, with just two people watching them.
"They had 21 kids in there, and they were unlicensed," Neighbor Sonya Powell-Davis says. "I'm surprised."
Investigators say 29-year-old Anila Qayyum had a business permit to care for up to five kids. Only her 23-year-old sister, Rabia, was helping her when the home was raided. Both women are now facing seven counts each of reckless child endangerment.
"Some of the babies were in the closets and bathrooms, strapped in car seats," says Powell-Davis. "That's really disturbing and dangerous for the children. I would be very angry if it was my child in there."
The home-based business has been shutdown for now -leaving more than a dozen families scrambling to find a legal place to leave their children.
"I used to look over there and say she seems like such a nice daycare provider," Powell-Davis says.
Police says even with the appropriate license, the women would have only been allowed to care for up to 12 children at the home, not 21.
Bond was set at $8,000 each. If convicted, they could be facing jail time.
