Former daycare owner pleads not guilty to assault charges involving 6 kids

A former daycare owner has pleaded not guilty to eight assault charges involving children who used to attend her child-care centre.

Mary Jana McCormack, 32, will go on trial June 19.

The charges involve six different children,RCMPhave said. No other details on the allegations have been released.

• Former daycare owner accused of assaulting 6 children

About a dozen parents and supporters of the sixchildren were in Fredericton provincial court for McCormack's case on Tuesday morning and declined to speak to reporters.

McCormack was not in court for the appearance. Her lawyer, George Kalinowski, entered the pleas on her behalf.

Four days were set aside for the trial.

Police have said McCormack was arrested in July and charged in Novemberafter a five-month investigation.

She operated Laugh & Learn Children's Centre in Harvey Station, but the daycare no longer has a licence to operate.

Officials with the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development have refused to say when the child-care centre closed or if inspectors were concernedfor children's safety.

According to a version of theweb page archived by Google, Laugh & Learn Afterschool Program had 24 licensed spaces for children to attend preschool and after-school programs as of March 2016.