Preschool Owner Accused of Sexual Abuse Was Investigated Before

The Ocean Beach preschool owner accused by state officials of sexually abusing a 3-year-old girl was the subject of an earlier investigation into his child-care practices, an official said Monday.

No criminal charges were filed against Lewis Sasaran after a 1970 investigation by the state Department of Social Services, said Tom Hersant, the department’s top licensing official in San Diego. Details of that investigation have not been revealed. But Sasaran signed an agreement after the probe in which he promised to avoid all contact with children at the preschool in exchange for a state license to run the facility with his wife Jeanne, state documents show.

The Loma Alta College Children’s School and Infant Center, operated by the Sasarans in the 4400 block of Mentone Street, closed Friday after the state temporarily suspended the couple’s day-care license.

A formal Department of Social Services complaint alleges that both of the Sasarans sexually abused a child participating in a swimming program at the couple’s pool at their home, in the 1000 block of Sunset Cliffs Boulevard.

The San Diego Police Department, acting on a complaint filed by the girl’s parents, will forward the results of its investigation to the district attorney by Friday, said police spokesman David Cohen. The police will probably recommend prosecution of the Sasarans, Cohen said.

Differing Opinions

But many of the parents who had enrolled children at the Loma Alta preschool have closed ranks behind the school’s owners. “We know the Sasarans, we know the staff, and we don’t even think that such a thing is possible,” said Michael Hix, who had a son enrolled at the center. “I have not met one parent” who accepts the allegations, said Gale Pennoyer, whose daughter was among the 32 children attending the swimming program. “I don’t think anyone believes it.”

A majority of the parents have signed a petition asking the state to reopen the school during the investigation, according to Pennoyer. The Sasarans, who have operated the school for more than two decades, have said they would stay away from the facility until the inquiry is completed, she said.

Judith Kopec, a Department of Social Services attorney who is handling the complaint, said she is not surprised by the show of support. “No matter how serious and grotesque the allegations are, there are always some parents who are supportive of the school,” she said.

Pennoyer said the Sasarans met with the parents Saturday and have convinced her that the allegations are false. She said Lewis Sasaran discussed the 1970 case at that meeting, but Pennoyer refused to discuss the incident. The Sasarans also refused comment, citing the advice of their attorney.

Kopec said she will try to meet with the parents’ group in San Diego later this week in an effort to find an acceptable solution. “It’s been very tough,” said parent Hix. “There aren’t a lot of (child care) options in San Diego.”

Inquiry Details Not Released

State officials refused to reveal details of the 1970 investigation. But agreements barring an operator of a day-care center from contact with the children are uncommon, said Liz Brady, a Department of Social Services spokeswoman. “Then again, we license 70,000 facilities statewide,” Brady added.

Stipulated agreements such as the one signed by Sasaran are negotiated when the agency lacks sufficient evidence to revoke a day-care operator’s license or when the action is likely to prevent further violations, according to Kopec. She refused to discuss the Sasarans’ case specifically, but said settlements like the one reached with Lewis Sasaran in 1970 are not unreasonable.

“Based on my understanding of the situation in 1970, if the exact same case came up today, the agreement that was reached in 1970 would be a very good way of handling the case,” Kopec said.

Today all such agreements must be approved in Sacramento, but the one in 1970 was handled by the department’s San Diego licensing office, according to Kopec. “Standards have really tightened,” she said. “The way we operate right now is much more formalized than even 10 years ago.”

Since 1980, the Sasarans reportedly have consistently violated the terms of their settlement, according to the department’s complaint against the couple. The document alleges that, for nine years, the Sasarans transported children to their home on Sunset Cliffs Boulevard, where Lewis Sasaran supervised the swimming program.

Hersant, whose office must enforce stipulated agreements, said nine annual inspections failed to expose the problem. “There is no certitude in anything. Lewis Sasaran was never seen on (preschool) premises, and we do not normally go to people’s residences. There was no way to know.”

But Hersant maintained that the monitoring system as a whole should not to blamed for an isolated incident. “The very real fact,” he said, is that Loma Alta College is “the only preschool to be shut down in a 10-year period since I’ve been here.”