BROWNSBURG — A massive investigation is underway, looking into a Brownsburg childcare facility.
A former employee of Main Street University 4 Kidz is accused of child molestation.
This comes after delayed reports and one teacher stepping forward to alert the Department of Child Services.
Gabriel Garner is accused of inappropriately placing his genitals on girls' faces while they were sleeping, taking pictures of children and engaging in other sexual acts.
He's the man police and Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) want parents to talk to their children about.
Although there were cameras in the classroom, police records show there was a blind spot in the classroom.
More than 130 photos were found on Garner's phone involving young children and sexual acts. Police also found around 125,000 images of pornography on his phone.
Main Street University 4 Kidz was shut down on Thursday.
Indiana FSSA called it an emergency and were on site to help families throughout this process.
"It's disgusting. We don't know whether or not my child was involved, and hopefully that is not the case," said parent Hyleigh Wardlow. "I think that this is a parent's worst nightmare, dealing with this, let alone the way that we had to find out."
Wardlow said Garner was in her daughter's classroom.
"I went to the police station this morning, there was another parent there. We both got there right when they opened," she said.
The detective who questioned Garner said the former daycare employee was laughing, and said he "didn't know why he did it."
The investigation comes after he allegedly sent a text to a teacher asking if her child had a foot fetish. That teacher reported to DCS.
Parents are furious that this is just coming to light.
"I was just at a loss, and like, ok, I'm just finding out about this. What is the next step? What do I do? How do we make sure that my daughter's safe," asked Wardlow.
FSSA said the rare immediate closure by the state impacts 76 children.
It's now working to revoke the daycare's license permanently.
FSSA released this statement:
"We are deeply shocked and saddened by the events that have come to light, and our hearts go out to the victims and their families. In response, the Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning has taken swift action, issuing an emergency closure order for this facility, effective immediately and remaining in place until further notice."
"As law enforcement continues its work, our focus remains on supporting affected families. To ensure they receive the assistance they need, we have staff on-site to help families secure alternative childcare and access critical resources as they navigate this difficult time."
Attorney Catherine Michael, one of the attorneys who is representing multiple impacted families, reminds that daycare workers, teachers and most people in Indiana are mandated reporters.
"And that means that if they suspect or know of abuse, they need to contact the department of child services or they need to contact the police and this is a case, along with the families, we're learning about this, but this is a case in which we're discovering many parents had their concerns brushed off or suspected things, and unfortunately, those didn't get addressed when they should have," said Michael.
She encourages families to reach out.
"If parents have information about this, if people witnessed it, knew about the man who was perpetrating these crimes, they need to come forward. They need to talk to the police. They need to provide that information. They can certainly call our offices to provide that information as well. Our goal is to ensure that these types of things stop happening. We do that by ensuring that people know to come forward. The first time you suspect abuse, come forward. It is far better for that to be something where you overreacted than it is for abuse like this to be allowed to go on for as long as it did," said Michael.
Michael said the best thing parents can do is vet day cares and have conversations with children about "bad touch."
"Even those things unfortunately don't guarantee safety, which is what a lot of the families in this situation are discovering is that you can do everything right, and still have these types of tragedies happen to your child, but that is where really teaching your child about good touch, bad touch, and getting them to be as vocal as possible can be helpful," said Michael.
The daycare has had previous issues dating back to 2022 involving improper documentation of employee training and evaluations.
If you believe that your child may have been a victim of abuse at Main Street University 4 Kidz in Brownsburg, you're asked to call the DCS Hotline at 1-800-800-5556 or the Brownsburg Police Criminal Investigation Division at 317-852-1109 extension 2123.
RELATED | Brownsburg Daycare shut down after employee arrested for child molestation
