Police say they have charged a 51-year-old man in connection with the sexual assault of a four-year-old boy at a Calgary day home.
Officials say the assault was reported to them last month, but the incident occurred in December of 2014.
The victim, a four-year-old boy, told his parents that he was fondled by a man who lives in the northwest day home.
The accused is the husband of the home's operator and is not a child care worker. He is alleged to have sexually assaulted the boy when they were alone in the home.
On February 5, Miles Jarvis Clark, was arrested and charged with sexual assault and sexual interference with a child under 16 years old.
Clark has since been released on the condition that he is not in the day home during regular business hours.
Police are trying to contact the parents of other children who attended the day home located in the 0-100 block of Rockyspring Rise N.W.
Staff Sergeant Melanie Oncescu with the CPS Child Abuse Unit says they aren't sure how many parents need to be contacted about this incident.
"Because it's an unlicenced day home, I can't project what numbers we're dealing with, but we have made contact with some families who have attended the day home," she says.
Oncescu says that the families they have spoken to so far have been very cooperative and very concerned with the situation. "They're making the decisions based on what's best for their family, but at this point in time, we haven't had anybody else identified as a victim."
Oncescu says the day home runs under the title of Sue's Dayhome. She says that day homes in the city require licences when there are more than six children attending. "That's not the numbers we are dealing with."
Police say that when the investigation began, the operator of the day home was initially cooperative with them, but as it proceeded, the woman became less cooperative. Oncescu says that when officers tried to obtain a list of parents who use the day home, the operator cited privacy concerns.
"We don't really have a way to force that information," she says.
Oncescu says she has no information about the relationship between the operator and the accused, and says the day home is still open for business.
"The day home would not be shut down because, again, it is a private day home, so whether or not there are children at the day home, that is unknown."
She says the operator would not be facing any repercussions from the charges because she is not the accused in the case. "Only if she allowed the accused in the home during day home hours."
She says that it's frustrating to hit a roadblock in the investigation. "We have to understand that we're dealing with a four-year-old child, we're dealing with the privacy of the day home provider, and the accused. It's a very delicate balance."
Oncescu says that it's the hope of police that all parents have honest discussions with their children. "You never want to ask direct, probing questions, of course, but having conversations with your children and asking how their day was. If behaviours change, look for those signs. As I mentioned before, if you go to the Sheldon Kennedy Advocacy Centre website, there's all sorts of information there as well."
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call police at 403-266-1234.
