Cranford Day Care 'Fight Club' Defendants Seek Entry Into Pre-Trial Intervention Program

ELIZABETH, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Two former employees of a Cranford, New Jersey day care who were accused of staging a "fight club" among boys and girls were seeking probation Thursday through a program that could result in their charges being dismissed.

Erica Kenny, 22, and Chanese White, 28, were each seeking acceptance into a pre-trial intervention program, available to first offenders.

The program allows defendants to be placed on supervised probation and, if the participant completes the program, the charges are dismissed, NJ.com reported.

Kenny, of Cranford, and White, of Roselle are accused of encouraging children, ages 4 to 6, to fight each other on the playground of the Lightbridge Academy in Cranford.

They each pleaded not guilty to child abuse charges stemming from the alleged fights Aug. 13.

Kenny also faces a charge of third-degree endangering the welfare of a child after prosecutors say she recorded video of the fights and shared them with friends through Snapchat. In the video, she compares the fights to the 1999 movie, starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton, authorities said.

Both women were scheduled for a hearing Oct. 15, but court records show White is now slated to appear in court Oct. 28 and Kenny is scheduled to be in court Nov. 18. Their hearings will be on their potential acceptance into the pre-trial program.

The Union County prosecutor and the county public defender declined to comment.

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