Parents urge province to tighten rules after alleged sexual assaults at Edmonton daycare

A group of Edmonton families is demanding tougher rules for daycare operators after they say they were left in the dark for months about an alleged sexual assault involving a young girl.

Their kids attended Willowbrae Academy Mill Creek where a former daycare worker is wanted on two counts each of sexual assault, sexual contact and sexual counsel. 

Police issued a warrant for the arrest of Dilpreet Singh Chawla, 32, on July 16, a month after the initial complaint, but he had fled the country.

On Aug. 22, the daycare notified families via email of a "serious incident” and posted a notice to the vestibule of the facility.

Parents said they were shocked to discover the serious and sexual nature of the alleged incident shared at a town hall on Sept. 8 by the mother of the first complainant. Afterwards, a second child came forward, leading to more charges.

“It took around 80 days for parents to become informed of what had happened, to start the process of talking to their children,” Thomas Kyle, whose son attended Willowbrae Academy Mill Creek, recalled in a recent interview.

Kyle examined the law, regulations and policies for Alberta daycare operators and said what he discovered left him even more disturbed.

“I could understand if a process wasn't followed, or either the daycare or Alberta Childcare failed to do a step, but everybody followed what the law and what the transparency requirements are,” he said.

According to the Early Learning and Child Care Act, a licensed daycare provider must report abuse allegations to the licensing body to trigger an investigation.

But there is no obligation to automatically report investigations of abuse to families of the children using clear language.

On Sept. 16, a number of parents with children at Willowbrae Academy Mill Creek emailed Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides requesting a review of the case, but they said they never heard back.

“It took parents escalating and pushing hard before a town hall was held, where daycare ownership finally admitted that multiple children were involved and gave the staff member’s name. From my perspective, the daycare likely followed the required process, but that’s part of the problem,” the letter reads.

“Parents were not given the information they needed to ask their children the right questions, and during this time the accused was able to leave the country.

“We need clear rules that when allegations of abuse are credible, parents are informed directly and immediately, in plain language. I am asking you, as the minister responsible for child care in Alberta, to review this case and take steps so families in the future are never left in the dark like this again.”