Police in Killeen, Texas, are investigating the alleged sexual assault of a 4-month-old girl at a local day-care center. The incident, which is still under investigation, is horrible in its own right; however, retaliatory actions by the day-care center against the infant's mother are equally despicable and disturbing.
"Officers responded to the Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 9:45 p.m. in reference to a welfare concern," reads a press release the Killeen Police Department posted to their Web site Monday. "The mother of the victim drove to Darnall after she left the day-care [center] and asked for her child to be checked for unusual bruising. An officer met with doctors at Darnall who advised that the 4-month-old female had bruising consistent with a sexual assault."
The incident allegedly took place at Little Blessings Child Care Center at 803 N. 10th St. in Killeen. Nishea Porter, a caregiver at the facility, told Temple-telegram.com that she discovered the injuries while caring for the infant. Porter pointed them out to the infant's mother, Kristie Simmons, when she came to pick up her daughter.
"When I saw it, I didn't think anything of it," Porter said. "I asked her if the baby had a diaper rash, and she said, 'No.' After I told her, she started pacing around, panting and fanning herself."
Porter denied media reports that police currently suspect a Little Blessings employee; however, Monday's police press release states that they have "identified an employee of the day-care [center] as a suspect in the case." In addition, News8austin.com posted an article yesterday that claimed, "There has been an arrest of an employee at the day-care [center], but charges are pending."
According to Carroll Smith of the Killeen Police Department, the suspect has a criminal record. The Department of Family and Protective Services Web site also shows a pending violation for Little Blessings for not conducting background checks on its employees.
