A day care employee accused of abuse at a child care center was hired by another Georgia day care, where she sexually abused children in front of their classmates, according to lawsuits filed by two families.
Two families, who each have 4-year-old daughters, say Tulsi Patel sexually assaulted their children at Kids ‘R’ Kids in Alpharetta, lawsuits provided to McClatchy News say. Kids ‘R’ Kids has more than 170 academies in the U.S.
Classmates “were forced to watch” the separate assaults that were captured on surveillance footage on July 22 and July 25, according to the lawsuits that were filed Oct. 8.
Patel was arrested in connection with assaulting both families’ children, the lawsuits say.
She is accused of abusing 12 victims at Kids ‘R’ Kids in a span of two weeks, Alpharetta police told WSB-TV’s Candance McCowan, who first reported on the lawsuits.
The criminal case against Patel is pending, court records show.
In a statement to McClatchy News on Oct. 22, her defense attorney, Mike Jacobs, said, “We look forward to our day in court” and declined to comment further.
The parents of the two 4-year-olds are suing Patel, Kids ‘R’ Kids and another day care, Cornerstone Schools, where the lawsuits say Patel previously worked.
According to the lawsuits, Angela Martin, who was the president of Cornerstone Schools, was aware that Patel abused another child but never alerted law enforcement. Martin was arrested and charged with failure to report and reckless conduct , WSB-TV reported Aug. 21.
“Cornerstone and Martin were aware of previous abuse at their facility and did nothing to stop the abuse from happening again by their former employee Patel at Kids R Kids,” the lawsuits say.
Information regarding Martin’s legal representation wasn’t immediately available. Cornerstone Schools didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment Oct. 22.
In a statement to McClatchy News on Oct. 22, Sasha Vinson, the chief operating officer of Kids ‘R’ Kids, said “we acknowledge the receipt of legal documents pertaining to the ongoing matter involving Tulsi Patel, a former teacher at a Kids ‘R’ Kids school who was accused of child abuse, earlier this year.”
“The recent allegations against Ms. Patel, who was employed at a Kids ‘R’ Kids franchisee location for less than two weeks, are deeply troubling and we are cooperating fully with all legal proceedings to ensure that justice is served,” Vinson said.
Vinson also said that Patel was hired by Kids ‘R’ Kids “as a result of Cornerstone’s failure to report” abuse accusations involving Patel at Cornerstone schools, and after she passed “state-mandated background checks.”
The assaults
On July 22, one girl was asleep at Kids ‘R’ Kids when Patel “allegedly inappropriately penetrated” her while she was underneath a blanket, next to her twin sister, according to one of the lawsuits.
Her twin sister saw the abuse happen, the lawsuit says.
Three days later, on July 25, another girl told her father that her “private area was in pain” when he picked her up from Kids ‘R’ Kids, according to the other lawsuit.
The child described how Patel inappropriately touched her while “(Patel) had (the girl) on her lap,” the lawsuit says.
“The trauma these children have endured will have life-long repercussions,” the families’ attorney, N. John Bey, the founder of Bey & Associates, told McClatchy News in a statement on Oct. 22.
In her statement, Vinson said Kids ‘R’ Kids “prioritizes the well-being of children above all else” and that this was “exhibited by our franchisee reporting this incident immediately upon learning of it.”
“This school has been open for almost 20 years and we have processes (including background checks) and procedures in place to mitigate the risk of something like this from happening, including our school cameras that will always be there to remind teachers that their actions are being watched,” Vinson added.
With their lawsuits, the families are demanding jury trials and seek to recover an unspecified amount in damages.
“These families are seeking financial resources to ensure their children can access the long-term care needed to address the physical, emotional, and psychological damage caused by the abuse. Additionally, they hope these lawsuits send a message that institutions responsible for the care of children must prioritize their safety at all costs,” said Bey, whose law offices in Georgia are located in Atlanta and Macon.
If you have experienced sexual assault and need someone to talk to, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline for support at 1-800-656-4673 or visit the hotline's online chatroom .
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