ELIZABETH -- Two former child care employees charged with encouraging toddlers to fight at a Cranford day care center -- with one of the woman making a reference to a "fight club" -- have pleaded guilty to child abuse charges.

Erica Kenny, 23, and Chanese White, 29, each pleaded guilty last month in separate hearings before Superior Court Judge Frederic McDaniel, according to the Union County Prosecutor's Office.

Each of the women changed her plea from not guilty to guilty as part of a plea agreement in which the prosecutor recommended a penalty when each of the defendants is sentenced next month.

However, just what the prosecutor will recommend to the judge is not clear.

Mark Spivey, spokesman for the prosecutor's office, confirmed that Kenny and White each pleaded guilty to one count of fourth-degree child abuse, but Spivey said he had no information about the prosecutor's recommendation for a sentence.

Both woman were employed at the Lightbridge Academy day care in Cranford. In August 2015, authorities said, the two workers urged children, ages 4 to 6, to push and shove each other.

Authorities said Kenny recorded the incident on her cellphone, and that on the video she was heard referring to the activity as "Fight Club," quoting from the book and movie of the same name.

Kenny was also charged with third-degree endangering the welfare of a child for allegedly recording the incident and posting a video on social media via Snapchat, authorities have said.

After charges were filed against the two woman, Lightbridge Academy issued a statement saying no children were injured and both White and Kenny were fired days after the incident occurred. Parents reacted with disgust at news of the charges.

Kenny, of Cranford, and Chanese, of Roselle, each applied to enter a Pre-Trial Intervention Program, or PTI, in which the women would have been placed on probation and could have ultimately resulted in the criminal charges being removed from their records.

Union County Assistant Prosecutor Michael Sheets opposed the request and Superior Court Judge William Daniel rejected the applications.

Kenny and White are scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 14, according to court records.

Tom Haydon may be reached at thaydon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Tom_HaydonSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.