A Massachusetts mother claimed that employees of a children’s group home in Dracut shaved her 7-year-old child’s hair—then told the girl that her hair would grow back straight.

Speaking with WBZ-TV, Denise Robinson said her daughter, Tru, had very long hair before a clinician at the Little Heroes Home took her to a salon where a volunteer cut all her hair off.

“The volunteer informed this 7-year-old biracial child that by shaving her head, her hair would grow back straight,” attorney Richard Kendell alleged. “I find that appalling.”

Robinson claimed that a facility employee told her that they cut her daughter’s hair due to a hygiene issue—something the mother vehemently denied.

“There was no hygienical reason for them to shave my child’s head. There was no head lice. There was no bed bugs. There was no what I refer to as rasta locks going on,” she told NECN.

“Her hair was two ponytails on the side on Saturday and it was braided in the ponytails and there was nothing wrong.”

WCVB noted that the Department of Children and Families placed Tru in the state-run group home for children ages 5 to 11. The program that the 7-year-old was enrolled in served kids with behavioral needs, according to WXFT.

“I’m not afraid to say it and talk about the elephant in the room: I believe it’s a biracial matter and by shaving her head close they were somehow implying that straighter hair is better than dread, curly hair,” Kendell said.

Tru stays at the group home several nights a week. Her mother said that the group home staff informed her that a clinician signed off on the 7-year-old’s haircut, NECN also reported.

“I am very upset. And I’m not going to stop being upset because I feel like my child was assaulted and violated,” she told WBZ-TV.

Little Heroes said they are investigating the incident. It’s unclear whether DCF is also looking into it.

[Featured Image: WFXT (screengrab)]