Indonesian Court Sentences 11 Daycare Workers to Prison for Child Abuse and Neglect in Yogyakarta Facility Scandal
An Indonesian court has sentenced 11 daycare workers to between two and three years in prison for abusing and neglecting toddlers at a childcare facility in Yogyakarta, following a scandal that sparked nationwide outrage after disturbing CCTV footage emerged.
The sentences were handed down on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, at the Yogyakarta District Court on the island of Java. The defendants, all women, had been arrested in April alongside the facility’s principal and the head of the foundation that operated the centre.
The case attracted widespread attention after footage circulated on social media showing young children, most of them under two years old, lying on the floor in nappies with their hands and feet bound with rags. The daycare, known as Little Aresha, was subsequently shut down.
Judge Sunaryanto ruled that the workers had been “lawfully and convincingly proven to have committed the criminal offence of participating in placing a child in a situation of abuse and neglect, as well as participating in acts of violence against a child, carried out on an ongoing basis.”
The verdict brought little comfort to some of the affected families. Imedia Dwi Anjani, whose four-year-old son attended the daycare, wept after the hearing and questioned whether the punishments were sufficient.
“These children need a lot of therapy, so if the perpetrators are only sentenced to 2 years or 2.6 years, in our view as parents, that’s not fair,” she told AFP.
Investigators reportedly found 20 children crowded into a room measuring approximately three metres by three metres. Police estimated that more than half of the roughly 100 children who attended the facility had been subjected to mistreatment.
City police chief Eva Guna Pandia said the workers had told investigators that they tied up some children to prevent them from disturbing others. They also reportedly cited understaffing and a shortage of personnel to bathe and dress the children.
Parents described troubling experiences involving their children. Noorman Windarto said his son had been tied up and repeatedly hospitalised with pneumonia while attending the facility. His daughter, meanwhile, sometimes returned home with bruises that handlers attributed to incidents elsewhere.
The daycare’s principal and the head of the foundation that operated it are expected to face trial separately. Their proceedings could provide further answers about the management of the facility and the extent to which responsibility extended beyond the workers directly involved.
The case raises serious questions about childcare oversight, staffing standards and the protection of children who are too young to report mistreatment themselves. CCTV footage helped bring the alleged abuse to public attention, but the case also demonstrates why effective inspections, safe reporting channels and clear accountability are essential in childcare facilities.
For the affected families, the prison sentences represent a measure of legal accountability, but the emotional and developmental consequences for the children may last far longer. The case has renewed attention on the need to ensure that facilities entrusted with the care of young children meet basic safety standards and that complaints of abuse are investigated promptly.
