Day Care Worker Charged with Abusing Child
Irondequoit Police said a Marion man is facing charges for allegedly sexually abusing a child at an Irondequoit day care.
Police investigators charged Joseph Calabrese, 24, of Mill Street in Marion, with sex abuse and endangering the welfare of a child.
Police said the arrest followed the disclosure of a 7-year-old girl that Calabrese allegedly sexually abused at Generations Early Care and Education on Empire Boulevard.
Police said Calabrese has worked at all seven Generations locations since 2007.
Police said the investigators developed information that Calabrese may have been connected to a similar incident at Generations in Fairport.
Irondequoit Police and the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office are asking parents of children who may have had contact with Calabrese to call local police if they have any reason to believe there was inappropriate contact.
Police said Generations is cooperating fully with the investigation. Bridget Shumway, the president of Generations issued this statement:
“We are fully cooperating with the police and district attorney in the investigation of Mr. Joseph Calabrese, who worked until yesterday as an assistant teacher at our Irondequoit Child Care Center, and was employed by Generations for three years.
Upon hearing of his arrest late yesterday, we immediately notified the Office of Children and Family Services and Child Protective Services. We are notifying parents of children at all Generations centers today. We are able to assure our parents that because of our team teaching approach, Mr. Calabrese was very seldom alone with children, and that they already would have been contacted if the police investigation had raised a concern about their child.
Despite thorough background checks and references before being hired, along with our ongoing training and performance reviews, it appears that Mr. Calabrese was not to be trusted. This incident is personally upsetting to me, and to everyone in the Generations family.”
Calabrese is being held in the Monroe County Jail on $20,000 bail.
“If only he didn’t have to live with mandatory celibacy in a male-dominated daycare system.”
Gen,
The first thing I thought was, "if only daycare workers could be married."
I do pray for any of this man's victims.