5-year-old's mother calls alleged assault at daycare in Alberta ‘gutting'

CTV News

26-06-2025

Kristen Savoie is pictured with her son in a supplied photo. (Source: Kristen Savoie)
It was April 3, 2025, when a five-year-old boy went to his mom with allegations he'd been choked at his Sherwood Park daycare.
He didn't say why, he just came home and told me that my teacher grabbed my throat today," said the boy's mother, Kristen Savoie.
'When I said can you show me, he gave me the motion of someone choking him, and said that he couldn't breathe.'
Savoie said it happened at Emerald Park Daycare – a place her son attended for about five months.
'It's gutting,' she said, adding she felt a range of emotions from anxiety and guilt to mistrust.
'You think that you are doing the right thing and you're paying for a reputable daycare,' Savoie said.
Emerald Park Daycare
Emerald Park Daycare in Sherwood Park in July 2024. (Google Street View)
She said she contacted the RCMP as well as other parents whose children attended the same daycare.
'I actually didn't tell them what happened to my son,' said Savoie,
'And all of these children came back and told their parents the exact same thing, that they were being slapped in the face, in the head and in the back,' she said.
Savoie said she and the other parents pulled their kids from the daycare and went to the RCMP.
She returned to the daycare the next day to retrieve an item her son had left and said she was surprised to see the accused employee was still working there.
'In that moment I refused to leave the daycare until she was removed,' she said.
Strathcona County RCMP are investigating.
'To date, five victims between the ages of five and eight years old have been identified,' police said in a news release issued on Monday.
The alleged assaults are said to have happened between March 17 and April 3, 2025.
Police said there were no serious injuries reported or need for medical attention.
Navam Sharma, 21, of Edmonton was charged with five counts of assault.
Navam Sharma
An undated photo of Navam Sharma. (Source: LinkedIn)
CTV News Edmonton has reached out to Emerald Daycare on several occasions about the allegations without success.
Another parent provided a letter to CTV News Edmonton they said was sent a week and a half after the initial incident was reported.
It stated the staff member was given a leave of absence and people should avoid passing judgement since the allegations are unproven.
Police confirm a week into the investigation Sharma was put on administrative leave until her arrest.
They could not confirm the status of her employment with the daycare since.
Sharma has been released on conditions – the allegations against her have not yet been tested in court.
Her next appearance is July 9, 2025.
Savoie has since found a new dayhome for her son and said the incident has given her a new perspective.
'Even if you think everything is okay and you think you trust the people watching your child, just ask the questions,' she said.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Nicole Weisberg