Duo accused of ‘fight club’ with young kids hope to stay out of prison

Two daycare center workers accused of creating a "fight club" with young children at a Cranford daycare center and recording the bouts on video are asking a judge for pre-trial intervention.

The Union County Prosecutor's Office said Erica Kenny of Cranford and 28-year-old Chanese White of Roselle instigated fights among children between the ages of 4 and 6 at Lightbridge Academy in August. The pair pleaded guilty to fourth-degree child abuse. Kenny also faces a child endangerment charge after allegedly according the fights and sharing them on social media.

The PTI program is available to first-time offenders that offers an alternative to jail time and tries to deal with the problem that may have caused the criminal behavior. Successful completion of the program leads to dismissal of the original charges and no record of conviction.

NJ.com reports White and Kenny were to appear in court on Thursday but now have hearings scheduled for later in October and November respectively regarding their acceptance into the PTI program. The Union County Prosecutor's Office has declined to comment on the cases.

Dan Alexander is the Digital Operations Specialist for NJ101.5 and Townsquare Media NJ. He can reached via email at dan.alexander@townsquaremedia.com, on Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ and at 609-359-5358.