Two More Preschools Closed After Sex-Abuse Charges

A sixth and seventh preschool in the South Bay area were ordered closed by state officials Wednesday amid allegations of child molestation by members of the staff and other adults.

License revocation orders from the state Department of Social Services were served on the Children’s Path school on Morningside Drive in Manhattan Beach and the Children’s Path School on Pier Avenue in Hermosa Beach at noon, according to department spokesman Jack Germain.

The school in Hermosa Beach had been closed since Oct. 30, when it shut down voluntarily after an announcement by local police that they were investigating reports of molestations. The school in Manhattan Beach did not close until the orders were served on Wednesday.

Germain said specific complaints accompanying the orders include allegations that at least seven, and possibly eight, children under the age of 6 years were “sexually abused and exploited” by “staff members and persons known to staff members.”

Investigators were told the children were subjected to sodomy, oral copulation and rape by instrument and were induced to fondle and orally copulate adults, Germain said. In addition, he said, at least two of the children were said to have been photographed, one while nude and the other while using a bathroom. Most of the alleged abuses are said to have involved children at the Hermosa Beach facility.

Investigators said two of the children were transported from the schools to the homes of staff members, but it was not specified whether any of the alleged abuses were thought to have occurred at the homes.

The licensees for both schools are listed as Jill B. Schwartz, Diane S. Lane and R. Hubbard--none of whom could be immediately reached for comment.

The Children’s Path school in Hermosa Beach is near several businesses searched earlier in connection with the McMartin Pre-School case, but officials have indicated that there are no connections between the two investigations. Seven teachers at the McMartin school have been charged with more than 200 counts of child molestation involving 41 children.

Hermosa Beach Police Lt. Mike Lavin said the Children’s Path facility in Hermosa Beach came under investigation last fall, after several parents and children “came to us with their suspicions.”

The school attempted to reopen in January, but the Department of Social Services handed down a temporary suspension order blocking the move, citing a continuing investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

A month later, the department said the school could reopen, explaining that “there was not sufficient information” to keep it closed. However, Schwartz said she decided to keep the school closed anyway, citing “anonymous threats of personal injury and several incidents of vandalism,” which she said created “a hostile climate, which is unfair to the children, the parents and staff.”

Germain said the revocation orders resulted in an investigation by personnel from his department, acting on new and detailed accusations, “most of them probably from parents.”

The Sheriff’s Department later issued a statement saying the Hermosa Beach school was closed as a result of an investigation by the Sheriff’s Task Force on the Sexual Exploitation of Children. The Manhattan Beach school was closed based on the findings of an investigation by state agents following up “leads and information” provided by the sheriff’s task force.

The statement said no criminal charges have been filed but emphasized that the investigation is continuing.