Boston Personal Injury Attorney Blog
According to a recent news article from the Boston Globe, a daycare center manager in Bridgewater, Massachusetts has been suspended after officials learned she allegedly failed to report suspected acts of abuse by a student-employer at the center. Authorities recently arrested the student employer for sexually assaulting two young children under his care.
Authorities say teachers at the center were troubled by defendant’s behavior for weeks. One teacher said she saw defendant sitting with a young boy on his lap and was rubbing the boy’s back while reading a story. It is alleged when he told administrator of this and other similar troublesome acts. The administrator in turn told teachers to keep a close watch on defendant and keep him away from the children while they were taking a nap, but he was not questioned and the police were not contacted.
It has also been alleged that, after a young victim’s mother told administrator about her son being molested while at the daycare center, administrator did not report the incident to local authorities for an entire day and allegedly told a teacher to keep this matter confidential. She is said to have told teacher they would handle the matter internally rather than involving the police. It was not until teacher convinced administrator they were legally required to make a report that administrator actually made the report. The teacher said she wanted to call police herself to warn them about the alleged sexual assault of a child at the daycare center, but she was worried about the repercussions of going over her supervisor’s head.
As our Boston daycare injury lawyers can explain, employees and managers at daycare facilities are considered mandated reporters and must report any allegations to appropriate authorities immediately. There are variety of civil claims that can be filed against a daycare provider, such as failure to adequately supervise, negligent retention of an employer known to be a risk of personal injury, such as assault, and other types of negligence.
Police say defendant has admitted to molesting two boys at the daycare center, ages four and five. The police report in connection with this alleged sexual assault at the daycare center has raised serious questions about whether abuse could have been prevented if administrator had reported concerns about the staff member soon, rather than continuing to let him work at the daycare center without conducting any type of investigation.
While it should be noted neither defendant nor administrator has been convicted of any crime, and both are innocent unless and until they are proven guilty, prosecutors say defendant told them he didn’t start touching any children until recently and, when he did, “it comes from a place of love.” He apparently told police he started feeling attracted to young boys at age 17, and since that time his attraction to young boys has increased.
Police also say defendant consented to a search of his room, where they allegedly discovered containers of boy’s underwear and diapers. He allegedly told police his other personality liked to write sexually-charged stories involving young children.
In a case like this, the day care center has a high duty of care to those in its charge. Failure to protect the young children could result not only in criminal actions against the alleged offender and possibly administrators, but also civil litigation against all involved to recover for pain and suffering, medical expenses and payment for the ongoing therapy that will no doubt be necessary.
If you are injured in an accident in Boston, call Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers for a free and confidential appointment — (617) 777-7777.
Additional Resources:
Bridgewater State day care director on leave amid abuse claims , April 3, 2015, Boston Globe
More Blog Entries:
New Guidelines for Identifying Causes of Newborn Brain Injury, October 21, 2014, Boston Personal Injury Lawyer Blog