The Waukesha Police Department is conducting a criminal investigation of an allegation of child abuse at an area child care center.
The Lawrence School on Saylesville Road in Waukesha is closed and, in an emailed news release, Waukesha Police Capt. Dan Baumann said police are investigating the allegation.
Police are at the facility, reuniting parents with their children, Baumann said. He noted that all the children are safe, but that the reunification process is taking longer than expected because of the young age of the children there, mostly infants and toddlers.
An officer at the scene shortly before 1 p.m. said police have been at the facility for about four hours. Parents leaving the facility with their children have not wanted to speak with reporters.
“We want to ensure that we reunite the children with the correct family member, this I know we all agree takes time and we want it to take as much time as we can to get it right,” Baumann said in the news release.
He added that for now, the department’s focus is on the safety and reunification of the children with their families. Information on arrests and criminal referrals will come out later.
“We appreciate everyone’s patience and for providing us space to advocate for those children and give them a voice,” Baumann said in the news release.
A teacher, who didn’t want to be identified as she was leaving the school in her car, said she was feeling the strain of the day’s events.
“I’m just stressed out, “ she said, breaking into tears.
According to its website, The Lawrence School “is a locally owned and state licensed child care center” for children ages 6 weeks to 12 years old. The school is also a collaboration site for the Waukesha School District in offering morning and afternoon 4K classes. It provides wraparound care for 4K children and school bus dropoff and pickup from Rose Glen Elementary School before and after school.
The 17,000-square-foot facility consists of 15 rooms and more than 4 acres of outdoor play space.
“We will work with the School District of Waukesha and release a unified message later on today,” Baumann said. “Again, the parallel investigation is ongoing so once the information has been vetted and verified we will release it so long as it doesn’t compromise the integrity of the investigation.”
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
Jim Riccioli contributed to this report.
Contact Alec Johnson at (262) 875-9469 or alec.johnson@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AlecJohnson12.
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