A 22-year-old Indian American daycare worker has been arrested and charged with molesting a four-year-old girl at Kids R Kids Academy in Fulton County, Georgia, US.
Alpharetta Police detained Tulsi Patel last Friday (26) after investigating a complaint from a parent.
The incident came to light on July 25 when the police met with the vice president of field operations at the daycare on Webb Bridge Road following the parent's accusation. The child was taken to the hospital for a medical examination, which led to Patel's arrest, reports said.
Kids R Kids Academy expressed their condemnation of Patel's actions in a statement, labelling them as "egregious misconduct."
According to reports, they are cooperating fully with the police and the Department of Family and Children Services by providing video evidence and offering counselling to affected families.
"The safety and well-being of the children and families impacted by this are our highest priorities, and we will continue to assist in the investigation to ensure that justice is served," the institution said in a statement.
"We want to assure you that we will remain vigilant in our efforts to protect our students. We will not tolerate any form of misconduct, and we are committed to ensuring that the teacher involved is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
A spokesperson said that they are implementing all necessary measures to prevent similar incidents and are currently reviewing their policies and procedures.
The Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, responsible for regulating childcare facilities, stressed the importance of parents being vigilant and informed about the daycare centres they choose.
Reg Griffin, spokesperson for the department, said that choosing a daycare is one of the most critical decisions parents will make. He noted that Georgia has 4,500 licensed childcare programmes and mentioned that parents can access complaints and incident reports for these facilities on their website.
"We publish all inspection reports online, including follow-up visits and any investigations," Griffin explained. He further said that Georgia daycares must adhere to over 400 health and safety regulations, with unannounced inspections conducted twice a year.
Griffin also mentioned that while the police are handling the criminal investigation, his department will review whether any state regulations were violated.
The investigation into Patel's conduct continues, with both the police and the state agency involved to ensure compliance with all regulations and to determine the extent of any violations.
Vikram Doraiswami
Andrew Quintman
Lord Jitesh Gadhia