Children’s Center of Lockhart, also known as Connie’s Kidz, in Texas, is closed after a fourth suspect was arrested today (Sept. 21) in connection to a sexual assault incident. According to local Austin news station KXAN, the Lockhart Police Department previously arrested three other people of interest after a 3-year-old was allegedly sexually assaulted at the daycare earlier this month.
A parent named Amber Chatelain told the outlet that a Texas Department of Family Protective Services (DFPS) investigator informed her that her child had been assaulted at the daycare just one day after it happened. “She told me that the report stated that my 3-year-old daughter was assaulted. I’m not gonna get into too much [of the] details,” Chatelain said of her conversation with the investigator.
The devastated mother noted that the crime was carried out “by a 13-year-old at the daycare.” She shared with the outlet that the day before the investigator notified her of her daughter’s assault, she picked the child up from Connie’s Kidz and no staff member informed her of any issues. “I can’t even imagine what else I or other parents haven’t been notified about,” Chatelain shared.
Since the gruesome discovery, the 13-year-old has been arrested on charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child. Because the suspect is a minor, their identity has not been revealed. The daycare’s owner, Connie Mendoza, has also been arrested for tampering with a witness, obstruction and failure to make a child abuse report with intent to conceal.
As of today, Mendoza is still in jail. Others arrested in connection to the daycare crimes include Christine Amaya and Rafael Santa Maria — both of whom have since been released. Amaya was arrested for failure to make a child abuse report with intent to conceal. Santa Maria was accused of tampering with a witness.