One person has been arrested and three more are in custody as part of a child abuse investigation at a Waukesha day care

WAUKESHA - Police have arrested one person and three others were taken into custody for their roles in alleged child abuse at the Lawrence School.

The Waukesha Police Department is continuing a criminal investigation at the child care center, the scene of a daylong exodus of children and staff members on Wednesday.

Authorities have referred charges to the Waukesha County District Attorney's Office for suspected child abuse and failure to protect children. Charges had not been filed as of Wednesday evening. The staff member facing child abuse charges was taken to the Waukesha County Jail, while the others were released pending charges.

The Lawrence School was closed early in the day as police —  working with the Wisconsin Department of Child and Families, the Wisconsin Department of Justice Department of Criminal Investigations, the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Office and the district attorney’s office — began their investigation at the facility, 3311 Saylesville Road.

"The investigative team developed a plan to substantiate and moreover have access to key personnel and pieces of evidence," Waukesha Police Capt. Dan Baumann said in a news release late Wednesday, noting that the school was also found to be operating at over 150% of its state-regulated capacity.

"Investigators were able to have access to family members as well as the children to seek out other potential victims in this case. With this being an open and active investigation, we will refer further questions to the criminal complaint which will be forthcoming."

Throughout the morning and early afternoon, police remained at the facility, in part to assist in reuniting parents with their children, Baumann said. He noted that all the children were safe, but acknowledged that the reunification process took longer than expected because of the young age of the children, mostly infants and toddlers.

An officer at the scene shortly before 1 p.m. said police had 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.

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.

The School District of Waukesha said in a news release it was informed at 9 a.m. this morning that the Waukesha Police Department would execute a warrant at the school accompanied by a large police presence.

The district said it was informed the warrant would address suspected physical abuse of a child and that The Lawrence School "would be closed for the foreseeable future." The district also said it was working on a plan to accommodate the four-year-old kindergarten students who attended The Lawrence School at other available School District of Waukesha elementary school 4K locations.

"The planning for this is ongoing and we are in the process of connecting with our families to ensure a smooth transition from the Lawrence School to ," the district said.

The district also said that none of its staff work at The Lawrence School and the district's relationship with the school would end immediately.

"We are shocked and saddened by the reports from the Waukesha Police Department," the district said.

A Lawrence School 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.

Richard Walsh, a parent whose wife is a teacher at the school, shared that element of stress, noting how every parent must feel at the moment.

"It would have been a big shock to me if my wife didn't work here," Walsh said as he was leaving the school, his 3-year-old daughter safely secured in the back seat. "My mind, going as a parent, it scared me."

His wife is likewise unnerved by the allegations at Lawrence School.

"She's scared. She's very scared. She's never dealt with anything like this, and she has worked at other day cares," Walsh said.

Other than what generally has become known, he said he has "no idea" about the specifics of the allegations and what they entail, as the investigation unfolds. But he acknowledged that there had been suspicions that something was wrong.

For his family, given his wife's employment and his daughter's daytime care, the uncertainty only adds to the anxiety.

"I have no idea what's going to happen," Walsh said.

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.

Contact Alec Johnson at 262-875-9469 or alec.johnson@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AlecJohnson12.

Contact Jim Riccioli at 262-446-6635 or james.riccioli@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @jariccioli.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Waukesha police investigate child abuse allegation at Lawrence School