The parents of a girl sexually assaulted by a day care worker have filed a Berks County Court lawsuit accusing the center of doing nothing to prevent their child from being abused.
The parents, whose names are being withheld by the Reading Eagle, claim that former day care worker Samuel A. Ervin repeatedly molested their daughter during nap time and bathroom breaks at the former Trinity Learning Center, 705 Friedensburg Road, Mount Penn.
The suit did not specify the age of the victim.
Ervin, 26, formerly of the 500 block of South 1612 Street, is serving a 36- to 88-year sentence for raping two 3-year-old girls and sexually assaulting four other girls, ages 2 to 10, between January 2004 and June 2006.
Ervin was fired June 5, 2006, after the charges were filed.
The suit claims the school was negligent and caused the girls pain, embarrassment and mental distress.
“Defendant Ervin was able to confidently create an atmosphere of terror, horror and physical, sexual and emotional abuse and without risk of reprisal, harm or discovery and was allowed to remain undetected for a period of two or more years,” according to the suit filed by Rick Long, a Wyomissing attorney.
The suit also claims school officials tried to cover up the molestation by failing to report complaints about it to the state Department of Public Welfare, which oversees day care centers.
At the time of the assaults, Trinity United Church of Christ operated the center.
The suit names as defendants Ervin, Trinity United Church of Christ, Trinity Learning Center and Peter J. Bourey, school principal.
Bourey has since resigned.
Jeffrey S. Fleischaker, a Bethlehem attorney representing the day care and Bourey, was unavailable for comment.
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