Bella Kuykendall, now 3, with her mother Kaitlin Kuykendall, an Army spouse. (Kaitlin Kuykendall)

FORT SHAFTER, Hawaii — The parents of a toddler who was physically abused by employees at a Navy child care center in Hawaii intend to file a lawsuit in federal court alleging the service was negligent.

Attorneys for Jeremy and Kaitlin Kuykendall, whose 15-month-old daughter Bella was abused in 2022 at the Ford Island Child Development Center, filed a pre-litigation SF-95 claim on Wednesday, according to a news release that day by Just Well Law, the Austin, Texas-based firm representing the family.

Filing the claim is the first step in seeking compensation under the Federal Tort Claims Act in federal court.

Two center employees were convicted in Hawaii District Court of misdemeanor assault in the case and handed jail terms in January.

Video footage from August 2022 revealed that employees pinched, slapped, squeezed, shook and smothered the toddler, according to the SF-95 claim. At times, the employees made the girl punch herself.

The SF-95 claim alleges the Navy was negligent in its oversight of the day care facility.

“The necessary background checks were either inadequately performed or completely overlooked, allowing individuals unfit for childcare responsibilities to be employed at the facility,” the claim states. “At least one employee and potentially more were hired without the completion of necessary background checks.”

The Navy did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Stars and Stripes on Wednesday.

In an interview with Stars and Stripes in 2023, Army Capt. Jeremy Kuykendall said he and his wife had noticed bruising on Bella’s legs and an unusual redness on her cheeks soon after she started attending the day care. Her demeanor also changed.

The Kuykendalls brought their concerns to the day care director on Aug. 26, 2022, and the Honolulu Police Department was called in to investigate.

The director initially said they could view video from the day care’s closed-circuit system, but that offer was quickly withdrawn, the SF-95 claim states.

The investigation languished, and the couple felt that Navy officials were downplaying the episode, the claim states.

Four months later, the Kuykendalls acquired complete access to videos from the days Bella had attended the day care.

“[Jeremy] spent hundreds of hours reviewing 75 hours of footage from multiple angles that ultimately confirmed their worst fears,” the SF-95 claim states.

“Over the three days spent at the CDC, [Bella] was consistently isolated, mishandled, neglected, and/or assaulted by three separate caregivers,” the claim states. “What started as negligent or basic inappropriate care on her first day rapidly escalated to violent acts.”

On her third and final day of attendance, Bella was “assaulted from the time she was dropped off until the time she was picked up,” the claim states.

On that day, she experienced “a host of batteries, including being pinched in multiple locations on her body including the back of her thighs, stomach, head, neck, and the side of her face,” the claim states.

“She was kicked in her side, forcefully pulled by her wrist, pinned down, hit on the back of her head, held in a chokehold, and excessively squeezed,” the claim states.

During nap time, caregivers wrapped her blanket so tightly around her body and head that she could not move.

After Jeremy Kuykendall lodged a formal complaint with the inspector general at the Naval Criminal Investigative Service in Quantico, Va., criminal cases were filed against two workers from the child care center by local Honolulu prosecutors, the claim states.

Analyn DeGuzman and Marilyn Kanekoa were each charged with assault in the third degree.

During separate hearings Jan. 17 in Honolulu, DeGuzman was given 30 days in jail and Kanekoa received eight.

Attorneys for the family allege that the Navy failed to follow policy mandating that CCTV video footage be displayed in the lobby during operational hours.

“During the week of [Bella’s] attendance, fewer than five TVs were operational, with none showing footage from [her] classroom,” a breach of the center’s guidelines, the claim states.

“There were obstructions in the camera view due to artwork hanging from the ceiling and the placement of [Bella’s] cot between a bookshelf and a table, both of which are against [policy],” the claim states.

The Pentagon’s inspector general announced in May that investigators would evaluate how the Defense Department and military services respond to child abuse allegations at its day care facilities.

The evaluation will look at how allegations are addressed and communicated to parents.