UPDATE: Travis Air Force Base backtracked on its assertion that child protective services had been contacted within 24 hours in both cases. In an email sent Wednesday night, Air Force Captain Lyndsey Horn said one of the incidents had not been reported.
"I just received that in the first alleged incident, Family Advocacy did not call CPS. In the second alleged incident, Family Advocacy made contact with CPS within 24 hrs. I sincerely apologize for this inaccuracy," Horn wrote.
Original Story: The parents of a 5-year-old girl have filed a claim of negligence with Travis Air Force Base after they say their daughter was touched inappropriately by classmates twice in three weeks.
Marcus Robinson and Tanisha Porter said their daughter was touched inappropriately last week, after employees had been notified of an earlier incident and had received requests to increase supervision.
Robinson said daycare workers heard his daughter scream for help a month ago when another girl at the daycare touched her in the bathroom.
"I've asked for a hall monitor to be put in place. I've asked for my 5-year-old daughter to be separated and to not be around these children. I've asked for them to watch her," he said.
Robinson said three weeks later, his daughter was heard again crying for help, again in the bathroom, but this time with a different girl.
"For a second incident to come forward let me further know that they were not adequately paying attention to my daughter," he said.
Robinson and Porter, a civilian employee at the base, say officials on base initially blamed their daughter for the incidents and then repeatedly asked the parents to remove a Facebook video post about them.
“They just didn’t care,” Porter said. “They were just worried about taking that video down. I just don’t understand for the simple fact I have worked here for six years at the child development center and that none of the policies and procedures were done on my daughter’s behalf.”
Air Force Captain Lyndsey Horn, a spokeswoman for the base, said she can't speak to those conversations because she wasn't party to them, but can say the base has taken steps to increase supervision.
"This includes assigning dedicated hall monitors to carefully monitor or watch over our children who are both transitioning to different classrooms as well as using those restrooms," Horn said.
Horn said child protective services were called within 24 hours of each incident and the families of the girls are under investigation. She also said the base has reached out to all parties. Each of the girls are 5 years old and in a pre-kindergarten program.
“We’ve ensured that families involved have the proper care that they need, whether that’s through health professionals,” Horn said. “At this point, the investigation would be taken care of by child protective services, which is located off base.”
The girl’s godmother, Jamilia Land, said she’s not convinced of the base’s dedication to discovering the truth about the incident.
"Where does a 5-year-old, 6-year-old, 7-year-old child learn this behavior?” she asked. “The question is begged: Can these children be being exposed to this type of abuse in their own homes and is those homes here on military installations?"
John Burris, the attorney who filed the claim on the family’s behalf, says a claim filed with a military base gives the military branch — in this case the Air Force — six months to pay damages and change protocol to the satisfaction of the parents. If the parents are not satisfied, they may file suit in federal court.
The base held a town hall meeting for parents on Monday afternoon and plans to hold another one next week.
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