Ex-daycare owner 'enraged,' testifies former employee

Former Memramcook daycare owner Celine Lang was described as "enraged" and "intimidating"by employees during testimony Wednesdayas the Crown wrapped up its case inLang'strial on charges of assaulting 12 children and an employee.

The defence is to beginpresenting its case when court resumes Tuesday at 9:30 a.m.

Lang, 58, is on trial inMoncton'sCourt of Queen's Bench on14 charges, including charges of assault against 12 children ather daycare,Couvede laValle.She is also charged with assault and assault with a weapon a flower pot against an employee.

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Christine McGraw Bourque, who worked at theCouvede laValle daycare for a six-month period in 2014, said she felt the children were scared of Lang.

"She would walk in a room and the kids all changed, you could tell something was going on," said McGraw Bourque.

McGraw Bourque said she hasa vivid memory of a three-year-oldchild crying after her parents dropped her off at daycareand Langshaking the childaggressively by the shoulders and yelling at her.

Pamela Strong, who worked at the daycare inSeptember 2014also recalled the incident, calling Lang "enraged" as she allegedly shook the young child while yelling "You're going to shut up, shut up."

McGraw Bourque said she offered to buy the daycare from Lang, who turned down the offer.

"I wanted her to stop hurting children," said McGraw Bourque, adding she was planning to sell the building afterwards.

"That building ... I would've never put another child in there. It was too emotional."

Another former employee,Denise Doironsaidthatafter shestarted working at theCouvede laValle daycare, shegradually started noticing things that were "not normal."

"I wanted to install a camera, but I couldn't," said Doiron.

DoirontestifiedLang allegedly oncetold employees afabricated story and asked them to repeat it to cover up why one of the children had a bruise.

Defence lawyer Hazen Brienquestioned why Doiron never intervened in any of the alleged incidents she said she witnessed over the 15 months she worked at the daycare.

"She was intimidating," said Doiron about Lang."You never went against what she was saying. You couldn't."

The court also heard from a fatherwho testified he went to the daycare to confront Langafter being told by his wife thatLang had tied their two-year-old son to a chair with a scarf.

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"She told me my child was in crisis and that the only way to calm him down was to tie him to a chair," recalled the father. "If my child is uncontrollable, you call me, you don't tie him up."

There is a court-ordered ban on publication of any information that could identify the children involved the case, including the names of their parents.

The Crown called 17witnesses,includingseven parents and sixformer daycare workers.

Lang has always denied the accusationsandpleadednot guilty to the charges.

The alleged incidents took place in 2014 at theCouvede laValle in Memramcook.