Teacher at Maple Grove child care center groped 9-year-old, charge says

A teacher at a child care and education center in Maple Grove groped a 9-year-old student, according to a criminal complaint.

Ryan Thomas Vaughan, 38, of Minnetonka was charged Thursday in Hennepin County District Court with second-degree criminal sexual conduct for allegedly touching the child in August at Tutor Time.

A warrant has been issued for Vaughan’s arrest. Several messages were left Friday for Vaughan seeking his response to the allegations. Court records do not list an attorney. Tutor Time said he had been placed on administrative leave and that the company is cooperating with the investigation.

According to the complaint:

On Aug. 12, the girl’s parents told police they noticed her “behavior was off the past several weeks, with [her] displaying higher anxiety levels,” the charging document read.

The girl’s mother said something seemed amiss when she picked her up from Tutor Time that day. She told her mother that Vaughan had been grabbing her.

The girl shared the same account with CornerHouse, a Minneapolis nonprofit that collects from children evidence of abuse and trauma. She added that Vaughan told her not to tell anyone that he touched her sexually.

The center has been cited by the state for a range of violations in recent years, according to Department of Human Services records. They include background study shortcomings; lack of information about a child’s allergy; insufficient furnishings, equipment, materials or supplies; unclean program space; children and staff not properly washing hands; prohibited acts of discipline; and staff not supervising children at all times.

For each violation cited, Tutor Time took corrective action that was approved, the agency’s records showed.

Tutor Time is part of a for-profit company based in suburban Detroit and has numerous outlets in the Twin Cities, elsewhere in the United States, and in Hong Kong and Indonesia.

“We remain committed to ensuring the health and safety of the children in our care and will continue to assist authorities in any way we can,” read a prepared statement from Tutor Time.