Father breaks into LA daycare, allegedly takes daughter against mother’s wishes

Man breaks into daycare center to grab child

A man was seen breaking into a daycare center to allegedly grab his daughter.

LOS ANGELES - Parents are on high alert after a man broke into a daycare center through a window and allegedly took his 4-year-old child.  

There was no restraining order against him, but the mother asked the daycare center to not let him take their daughter because he was acting irrationally.  

What we know:

Security video shows a man jumping over the fence of Little Ones Academy in Lawndale, prying open a window and climbing in. 

As one of the caretakers corralled the children, the other faced the man in the hallway, recognizing him as the biological father of a 4-year-old child with them. 

Staff members had been told by the girl's mother that the father was acting irrationally, and not to release her to him. 

"But he grabbed her so quickly," said the shaken teacher, who does not want to be identified, explaining the man was acting angrily, scaring her. 

She immediately called the 4-year-old's mother, as the man took off in a vehicle with the child. Citizen video shows the large response from Lawndale substation sheriff's. The mother, who does not want to be identified either, explains she had not filed a restraining custody order against the father, but did that afternoon, under advice from the deputies who responded. 

Since the dad lives in a neighborhood patrolled by LAPD, officers visited the man at his home where he had the child. The mother said she waited, as the father repeatedly refused to release the daughter to either officers or her. 

What they're saying:

The mother's family told FOX 11 they are afraid and fear for the child's safety. 

"I am very worried about my granddaughter, very stressed out." 

The mother said the father won't let her see her kid, and only sends her cellphone videos that show her playing.  

"How can that be?" the mother asked, sharing a temporary court order that does seem to give her custody, and the father visitation. She said officers told her there was nothing they could do, and that she would have to wait until the next court date, at the end of December, when a judge could make the temporary order permanent. 

"I am scared," she said. 

What's next:

Lawndale sheriff would need the daycare center to file a criminal complaint for the break-in for them to at least question the father about that issue. They have no jurisdiction over the custody matter. 

FOX 11 contacted the LAPD to find out why they didn't take the child, having a temporary custody order. 

The parents have a court date at the end of the month.