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  State Shuts down Park Hill Daycare Where Sexual Assault Suspect Worked

By John Romero
KDVR
August 13 2010

http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-park-hill-daycare-shut-down-txt,0,6691990.story



The pastor of an embattled Park Hill church said he understands the shock and horror of sex abuse allegations that surfaced this week.

Ben Janecki, a summer child care assistant at Park Hill United Methodist Church was charged Thursday with three counts of sex abuse on a child. State documents show Janecki admitted to touching, kissing and fondling as many as 13 young children at the church.

Rev. John Thompson, the church's senior pastor said the allegations have shaken his church community.

"We did a back ground check, this young man had no record what so ever," Rev. Thompson said. "Part of the deep hurt is that someone could invade our space and be so brazen as to do what was done."

The state of Colorado, however, said the church was not properly supervising kids and workers at the Children's Center. The state shut down the school this week, saying it posed a safety risk.

But Thompson said the Center was a huge help to the community, providing affordable day care, and vowed to make improvements, as they try to persuade the state to let them reopen.

"We will be doing a better job, we will now exceed the standards that the state sets, Thompson said. "We are a community of grace, love and forgiveness and we have to work our way back through it.

Janecki will be in court next Monday.

 
 

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