Worker at Los Alamos day care charged with sexual assault of child
Oct. 4—A 19-year-old man has been charged on suspicion of sexually assaulting a 4-year-old boy at a Los Alamos day care center, according to online court records.
William Louis Macinnes of Los Alamos was arrested and charged with two counts of criminal sexual penetration and two counts of criminal sexual contact in early September after a student at Little Forest Playschool told his mother Macinnes had sexually assaulted him during nap time, according to an affidavit for arrest warrant.
The child's mother told authorities the boy initially was reluctant to tell her what had happened because he didn't want Macinnes — with whom he'd become close — to get in trouble, according to online court records.
Los Alamos County Magistrate Pat A. Casados ordered Macinnes released on house arrest with electronic monitoring four days after his arrest, according to a court order setting his conditions of release. The order bars Macinnes from having contact with anyone under the age of 18 while awaiting trial.
Macinnes' attorney Dan Cron said Monday he hadn't yet received evidence in the case and couldn't comment on the charges but said Macinnes has resigned from the school and has been complying with his terms of release.
The Little Forest Playschool was temporarily closed by order of the New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department due to a mixup over whether the school had reported the incident, according to Kitren Fischer, an attorney representing the school.
The school had reported the incident, Fischer said, but that wasn't known to agency officials who issued the order.
The school was cleared to resume operation about two weeks ago, Fischer said Monday, but school officials decided to take some additional time before reopening to address suggestions from the Early Childhood Department regarding training and camera placement before reopening to students Monday.
A spokesman for the department did not immediately respond to questions regarding the order late Monday.
Fischer said Macinnes passed a pre-employment background check before being hired by the school, where he'd worked for about a year. The school's website lists him as an "assistant."
Macinnes does not have a criminal record in New Mexico, according to online court records.
The child's mother has filed an application for a restraining order which would prevent Macinnes from having contact with any of her three children until they are adults. Her two older children are familiar with Macinnes because he feeds horses at a stable used by the family, according to her petition.
