Baldwin Park day care, DCF make deal in abuse allegations

A Baldwin Park day care is on probation for six months and will pay $700 in fines after a state investigation of allegations that it failed to protect children from sexual abuse, the Department of Children and Families said.

Bright Horizons at Baldwin Park denies the accusations but chose to settle with the department “to avoid the potential disruption of services to families, and to affirm its commitment to further enhance the provision of childcare services,” according to a settlement agreement signed Oct. 31. The business remains open. The day care could have faced suspension. It still faces two civil lawsuits brought by parents of boys who claimed a former preschool teacher, Jayrico Hamilton, 28, sexually assaulted them.

The boys, ages 3 and 4, said the assaults happened during nap times and in bathrooms.

Hamilton has not been charged with any crime in Or- ange County.

The families’ lawyer, Jeff Herman, said the agreement is an admission to the claims made in his clients’ lawsuits.

The lawsuits accuse the day care of failing to protect children by ignoring concerns brought by another teacher and doing an insufficient check of Hamilton’s references and social media accounts.

Before moving to Florida, Hamilton was fired from his teaching position at a Navy Child Development Center in Virginia, according to the lawsuits. Court records in Virginia show he was convicted of making a bomb threat in 2012.

Bright Horizons hired him in 2016. He was fired in May. Lawsuits were filed in June and July.

As part of the probationary period, the state Department of Children and Families will conduct unannounced inspections every 30 days.