St. Louis area child care centers are seeing reports of child on child sex acts

UNIVERSITY CITY, MO (KTVI) – Children are complaining about other children in sexual situations at daycares. Report after report piled up as we examined inspection reports. Fox 2 News found cases in which inspectors looked into complaints from children and cited centers for failing to supervise.

One mother, whose identity we’re protecting, said, “A 4-year-old? She’s just now learning her own body parts.”

The University City mother struggled with the words to explain what her four year old told her happened at daycare. “This is not what we’re supposed to be doing in school,” she said. “You’re supposed to be learning how to write.”

Hospital records show her 4-year-old told a social worker a “big baby” touched her privates and that “it hurt.” The 4-year-old had been attending Agape Child Development Center. A representative declined to talk on camera, but told me she did not think it was possible for a young child to commit sexual assault.

In our Fox Files investigation, we found six similar reports at other daycares, while digging through two years of child care center inspection reports from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, also known as DHSS. The agency investigates child safety issues ranging from staff/child ratios to food safety. DHSS also inspects daycares after a complaint. If DHSS finds a violation, it generates a report called a “substantiated complaint.”

In November 2015, state child care inspectors went into Growing Footprints in south St. Louis City after an allegation that a 4-year-old and 3-year-old were “sexually acting out.” One of the parents reported to the state that her child “told her he was scared and told the (other child) to stop.”

The state did not substantiate the specific allegations, but did conclude the teachers were “in another room, leaving children without adult supervision.”

An attorney representing Growing Footprints said, “(The inspector) is not with Family Services and has no competence to determine whether abuse has occurred. The female child allegedly involved was 3 or 4-years-old. It is not believable that a child of such tender age would even know what these acts are, let alone force them on someone.”

The attorney provided Fox 2 News with a report from another agency, Social Services, which responds to child endangerment hotline calls. That report states, “There is insufficient evidence to conclude that either child was neglected.”

In May 2015, DHSS inspected Mary Margaret on Telegraph Road to look into a “report of a sex act between two kids in a bathroom.” Again, state inspectors did not substantiate the specific allegations but wrote supervision “violations” stating “children are not to be left unobserved.” Mary Margaret sent Fox 2 News a statement disputing the length of time the children were alone in the bathroom, adding, “the center has put in place a policy that only one child shall use the restroom at a time.”

Back to the mom of the 4-year-old who reported problems. She added, “Everything comes from home, it starts from home, they have to see it one way or another.”

She called attorney Ken Carp of kcarplaw.com who said it can happen anywhere.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s University City. It doesn’t matter if it’s St. Charles, you still have people interacting with people,” he said. Carp believes most parents do not report problems to the State.

“What parents have to do at a daycare is look, listen, and ask,” he said. “You have to look at what’s going on. You’ve got to listen to what your kid says. You’ve got to ask questions.” The unnamed mom said she’s glad her daughter told her.

“I want other parents to know that it does not hurt to talk to their children no matter what the age is for them to let their kids know that it`s ok to come home and tell mom and dad that something is going on.”

You can read every report, including every substantiated complaint at a daycare in the last two years here:

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Section for Child Care Regulation
Division of Regulation and Licensure
Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services
PO Box 570
Jefferson City, MO 65102-0570

Phone: 573-751-2450
Fax: 573-526-5345
Email: info@health.mo.gov

Section for Child Care Regulation
Division of Regulation and Licensure
Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services
PO Box 570
Jefferson City, MO 65102-0570

Phone: 573-751-2450
Fax: 573-526-5345
Email: info@health.mo.gov