DAYTON — Dayton police said they are now seeking the public’s help in an investigation into multiple allegations of sex abuse at Pat’s Care Away from Home last year.
The Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services received a complaint on Jan. 13, 2020 involving inappropriate touching between an adult and child, said Bret Crow, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services.
>> Chaos at the Capitol: Trump says he will not attend Biden inauguration
““The investigation into this matter is ongoing and detectives are working diligently and using every investigative technique at their disposal to identify the person(s) responsible,” Dayton police spokeswoman Cara Zinski-Neace said. “Despite these efforts, the investigation is at juncture where additional information is needed and we are asking that anyone with information regarding this case to contact the Dayton Police Department.”
The state suspended Pat’s Care Away from Home’s license three days later following an inspection that revealed the child care center had a serious risk violation when a “staff member did not protect infant from a serious injury,” the state inspection read.
That same inspection was updated this week and the state now shows that it plans to revoke the daycare’s license, online data shows.
The complaint to the state came two days after Dayton police were contacted by a social worker at Dayton Children’s Hospital about possible sexual abuse involving a 6-month-old girl at the daycare, according to police records. The social worker told police dispatchers the girl was injured.
The social worker said the possible abuse happened at the daycare, but was not able to provide any further information about possible people involved.
A separate police memo report filed Jan. 30 shows the Dayton Police Department responded to the daycare after a social worker wanted to report another possible case of sexual abuse possibly involving a 3-year-old boy.
According to the Jan. 30 police memo, a mother brought her son to Dayton Children’s Hospital after she “was concerned that her son had been sexually assaulted.”
The social worker told investigators the mother was concerned because her son “has been urinating himself, has a loss of appetite, and has started to touch (his mother’s) breast and vagina,” the report read.
The mother told officers that her son had been attending Pat’s Care Away from Home and she had noticed the closing notice on the door of the business on Jan. 17, but said she was not given an explanation.
The mother told police she was told by an employee on Jan. 30 that the daycare was closing “due to a teacher molesting one of the children,” the report read.
“(The mother) stated that she was told that the other child had medical evidence such as bruising to their private area,” the report said. “(She) stated that she tried to find out more about the situation, but no one could tell her anything.”
The day care declined to comment when reached by News Center 7 last year about this story.
Anyone with information on this case can call Dayton Police at 333-COPS or Crime Stoppers at 222-STOP. A cash reward is being offered for information that leads to solving the case.