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Parents of children who attend Childswork Learning Center are demanding an independent investigation into the Southeast Portland preschool after learning about a sexual-abuse allegation against a former teacher that the school kept parents in the dark about for six months.
The demands follow the Sept. 28 arrest of 20-year-old Yonathan Ortiz, who worked as a teacher’s aide and a substitute teacher at the preschool’s Cherry Blossom campus. Ortiz is accused of sexually abusing a 4-year-old girl and inappropriately photographing another 4-year-old girl at the school on March 30. Police and prosecutors believe he also sexually abused other children at the school.
Ortiz faces charges of first-degree sodomy, first-degree sexual abuse, using a child in the display of sexually explicit content and luring a minor, according to court documents.
Childswork Learning Center said it learned of a single allegation against Ortiz in late March and immediately terminated him. But the school did not notify families about the alleged sexual abuse until Oct. 1, shortly after Ortiz was arrested.
After receiving the email from the school disclosing the abuse, many Childswork parents were angry and said they were left with more questions than answers.
“I can’t understand or fathom why we were not told the next day that someone that had been in daily contact with our children had such a serious allegation against them,” said Maranda Bish, a Childswork parent.
The preschool claims it couldn’t share any information until Ortiz was arrested. In a statement sent to The Oregonian/OregonLive on Friday, Childswork Learning Center said it didn’t immediately disclose the allegations to parents because of instructions it received from the Portland Police Bureau.
“They provided us with limited information and no findings, and noted we should show discretion, not identify the victim, and not share details,” the statement said. “We focused on immediately terminating Ortiz’s employment and reporting to our regulators.”
Portland police on Friday acknowledged it had asked Childworks to limit disclosure for the sake of the investigation.
“There may be different recollections or understandings of that communication (between the Police Bureau and Childsworks), but it is not productive or appropriate to litigate the differences publicly,” Portland police spokesperson Kevin Allen said in a written statement Friday. “Our shared priority is protecting the children, preserving the integrity of the investigation and ensuring that information provided to the community is accurate and responsible.”
From the perspective of many Childswork parents, however, the delay meant months without the opportunity to ask their young children about possibly being abused or to look for signs of trauma and seek professional support.
Since the allegations became public, eight Childworks students have been referred to child-abuse counseling after being asked about Ortiz by their parents and giving what the case’s lead detective described as “very concerning” responses. According to the case’s prosecutor, at least two of those children likely will be added to the case as victims.
Junyu Johnson, another Childswork Learning Center parent, said she worries that parents will never fully know the extent of the alleged abuse at the school due to the age of the potential victims and their difficulty recalling specific memories.
“My son had already graduated, so it’s really hard for us to think back to what exactly happened,” Johnson said. “The children are really confused. When I asked my son, he was even confused about which school and which teacher.”
Bish, who had a 4-year-old at the preschool when the alleged abuse took place, worries that the months without disclosure may have normalized sexual abuse for the students.
“Kids trust that the adults in their environment are going to be communicating and addressing things,” she said, adding she’s concerned that some of the kids who were abused have interpreted the silence on the subject to mean that “the adults in their lives thought it was acceptable.”
In a list of demands released on Oct. 7, Childswork parents called for an independent investigation into the school’s handling of the allegations, a review of staffing and supervision practices, additional sexual-abuse training and financial assistance for therapy costs for children who were affected.
A private “town hall” event for parents will take place Friday evening and include school staff, Portland police and trauma experts.
Ortiz remains in jail after being denied bail on Thursday.
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