Sponsored message
Logged in as
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen
  • Listen Now Playing Listen

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

News

Preschool Is Closing After 5-Year-Old Girl Allegedly Performed Oral Sex On Other Students

This story is free to read because readers choose to support LAist. If you find value in independent local reporting, make a donation to power our newsroom today.

A preschool is shutting down after allegations of sexual activity between students were reported.

Richard McCarthy says his 4-year-old son received oral sex from a 5-year-old girl several times as a student at First Lutheran Church of Carson School, according to ABC 7. At least one other boy at the school reported that the girl had done the same thing to him at the school in Carson, California.

McCarthy told ABC what his son told him: "It went down in the classroom, it went down in the bathroom and it went down out on the playground."

Now McCarthy and the parents of three other students are filing a lawsuit against the school and church, alleging that their students weren't being adequately monitored. The suit, which the attorney says will be filed tomorrow, claims that there were times when school aides were literally sleeping on the job.

"It all boils down to a lack of supervision," attorney Greg Owen told ABC News. "There were times when teachers would let aides in the room for hours at a time to watch the kids. During naptime, the aides would be sleeping and the children would have been molesting each other during this time."

The California Department of Social Services has cited the school in the past for a lack of supervision and an improper teacher-to-student ratio. It has also cited the school for at least one sexual incident between students.

The school announced that it is closing next Friday, and it gave parents two weeks' notice. School officials told ABC 7 that the closing had absolutely nothing to do with the allegations. The school says the director of the school resigned for personal reasons and could not find a teacher who would take over. Parents don't buy that explanation given the timing and are angered that they were given so little notice about the school closing mid-year.

Sponsored message

McCarthy said he is worried about sending his son to another school, because he is worried that his son might try to molest other students at another school.

"The two boys that have been introduced to this feeling that they don't know how to process are still looking for it, and trying to make it happen," McCarthy told ABC 7. He added, "There's no way I can just take him to another school and be that parent that just lets a predator loose. How else do you explain it?"

The young girl accused of oral sex is no longer at the school. The Department of Child Protective Services cannot legally comment on the investigation or the girl's background.

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.

Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.

If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.

Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible donation today