On November 3, 2020, Horowitz Law filed a lawsuit in Hernando County Circuit Court against Ellie's Day Care Center located at 449 Bell Avenue in Brooksville, Florida. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of a woman and her two minor daughters, alleges that the girls were sexually molested by a teenage boy enrolled at the center. During an interview with detectives, the teenage boy admitted he committed sex acts that constitute sexual battery of the girls. The facility director said "no" when asked by law enforcement whether she had notified other parents whose kids were at the center.
The lawsuit claims that in May 2019, a 13-year old boy sexually assaulted a 7-year old girl on multiple occasions. The incidents of abuse included digital penetration of the girl's vagina and anus. The girl said it hurt and it frightened her. When she told the boy to stop, he refused. The abuse occurred once sitting on a bench in the playground and once when the lights were out while the kids were being shown a movie.
The lawsuit also claims that in May 2019 the same 13-year old boy sexually assaulted the girl's 5-year old younger sister on multiple occasions. The incidents of abuse included the boy touching the girl's vagina, both over and under her underwear. She said it hurt and scared her and told him to stop, but he did not. The assaults allegedly took place in open areas of the day care center that should have been strictly supervised by an adult. The lawsuit claims the younger girls should have been only placed with other age appropriate children. According to the lawsuit, both girls' emotional, physical and psychological suffering is a direct result of the negligence of Ellie's Day Care Center.
There is an expectation of trust when parents enroll their children in child care center. Sexual abuse by an enrolled youth, not only breaches the trust of parents and their children, but it breaks the law. Any day care center or institution in which sexual abuse is committed must take responsibility for failing to properly safeguard clients and to protect the public.
Horowitz Law has filed numerous sexual misconduct claims against day cares on behalf of children who were inappropriately touched at child care facilities, including pre-schools, daycare, and aftercare facilities. If you or someone you know was a victim of sexual assault or sexual battery at a day care, please contact our law firm at 888-283-9922 or send an e-mail to sexual abuse lawyer Adam Horowitz at adam@adamhorowitzlaw.com for a free consultation.