BAKERSFIELD, CA - Disturbing allegations of child molestation at a local Christian preschool emerged Thursday.
A lawsuit was filed Thursday morning on behalf of a Bakersfield couple, who claims their four-and-a-half-year-old daughter was sexually violated by fellow students.
The family of the girl, 17 News will not identify to protect the identity of a possible sexual assault victim, says their daughter reported several incidents of sexual misconduct to teachers at First Experiences Preschool at the First United Methodist Church in southwest Bakersfield.
The school says it first heard of these claims two days ago.
According to the lawsuit, several students were involved.
The lawsuit states: "the minors negligently, carelessly and unlawfully acted in such a manner that severe injuries were caused to the plaintiff."
"We're not sure at this time, but we do know of four, I believe five and six-year-olds," said attorney Gregory Owen.
The alleged victim's family says those four students sexually molested the young girl in several places at the pre-school, including the classroom during nap time.
The girl's parents recently pulled her out of the school and say she's having a hard time coping.
"In great detail, she's been able to verbalize what happened on multiple occasions in the sexual misconduct area," said the girl's father.
"This school, after it knew about these horrendous situations, they never reported it to any of the appropriate authorities," said Owen.
However, the church says it first heard the allegations Tuesday afternoon and has launched its own investigation.
"If true, it's sickening and incredibly unfortunate. We have no information to believe that it is in fact true," said Jay Rosenlieb, Administrative Chair, church council.
Clinical Psychologist Corey Gonzales says to protect your children, look for certain behaviors that could signal abuse.
"A lot of times children, when they're having these types of problems, will have more regressive behaviors. You might see bed wetting. You might see them be more clingy, more dependent, but just not functioning right. So, it's up to the parent to recognize those things."
The church says it's talking with staff and students about the allegations.
Bakersfield police are also investigating.