Our firm was recently hired by the family of a young child who was sexually assaulted at a daycare facility. Cases like this are very sensitive, and families need help throughout the entire process, which is why we have a full-time nurse consultant on our staff.
Child Psychologist Suspected Sexual Abuse
The family contacted us because their child had been acting out at home, which was unusual conduct. After asking the daycare if anything had happened, and being told that everything was fine, they took the child to his pediatrician. The pediatrician was concerned and recommended the family see a child psychologist. After just one session, the psychologist was concerned that the boy may have been sexually abused by someone at the daycare. The family again confronted the daycare and was told that an incident had occurred in the restroom involving their son and a much older boy from an afterschool program that shared space in the building.
That’s when they contacted our firm. We immediately filed a lawsuit against the daycare in an effort to preserve evidence such as video surveillance and logbooks. After gathering the available evidence, we began taking deposition testimony of the entire staff at the school. After examining over two dozen witnesses, we finally found our answers.
The School Chose Money Over the Safety of the Children in Their Care
A witness testified that the school was told that the older boy involved had a history of inappropriate behavior and had been excused from two other afterschool programs. His parents, however, were large donors to the school, so the school had agreed to make an exception and allow him to participate in their program. Despite the school’s knowledge, they provided no notice to the other families whose children were in the program, nor did they make an effort to increase supervision once he was enrolled. They also failed to notify any of the other teachers of the older boy’s past behavior to make them extra vigilant in their protection of the kids in their classrooms.
The situation was a ticking time bomb, caused by putting money ahead of safety. Once we discovered what had happened, the daycare quickly settled the case. In addition, they terminated their director and instituted additional safety protocols to prevent this from happening to other students. This was an important case in that it helped the family learn what happened to their son, provided for the treatment he needed, and established safeguards to prevent something similar from happening again.
If you suspect that your child has been abused at a daycare or school, please contact us for a free and confidential case evaluation. We will conduct a full investigation to ensure that your child’s rights are protected. Or, to learn more now, download our free book, A Parent’s Guide to Daycare Injury Cases: How to Obtain Justice When a Kentucky Daycare Harms Your Child