It's A Sick, Sick World

I'm showing signs of my deteriorating age and can't remember if I've told you all about what's going on at the daycare center Megan used to work for, so forgive me if some of this is a replay.

Megan quit last month after being called on the carpet for something that really wasn't her fault (or responsibility).  I wasn't thrilled.  I did want her out of there, but thought she should have stuck it out until she found another job.  Turns out I was wrong.  Waaaaay wrong.

A week or two after she quit she got a call from a friend that still worked there saying the owner's husband had been arrested.  The next day an article in the paper told the tale and listed the charges:  rape of a child, child pornography, attempted rape, endangering the welfare of a child....a whole long list of nasty charges.

The daycare closed the following week and is still closed this week while the investigation continues.  A detective came to the house this afternoon to talk with Megan.  He was a nice guy and told us a lot about what's going on.  What they know at this point is:

• He was arrested on similar charges in 1989.  So his wife, the owner of the daycare, knowingly allowed a known sexual preditor unlimited access to the daycare.  The detective told us she will be arrested for that if nothing else.
• They found over 600 pictures on his phone.  Many are downloaded from the internet, but they will have to go through them one by one with someone familiar with the daycare kids to see if any of them are there (though at this time they have no indications that any daycare kids were harmed).
• The owner is standing by him.  She says he's "a nice man with a problem."  She is sending their teenage daughter off to Florida to live with relatives so he can come home once bail is posted.
• The child he is charged with raping is his wife's granddaughter (she apparently doesn't care about anyone in her family).  She is getting counseling.
• The girl's mother knew her stepfather had this history, yet she chose to leave her child at the daycare with him and according to Megan he often drove her home with no one else along.  Those investigating the case are giving her a really rough time about that.

It's all just too horrible to comprehend.  How can someone do that?  What goes on in their mind?  I guess as the detective said, if we understood that, we'd need help, too.  Megan gave the detective several more leads....like the daycare owner coached midget football cheerleaders and brought them to the daycare all the time.  Was she scouting for him???  She also told about the times she'd witnessed the owner smacking kids when she was angry or frustrated with them.

Yeah, so.......Megan's call was definitely better on this one.  I'm grateful she went with her own instincts this time.