FORT SMITH, Ark. (Legal Newsline) - An Arkansas preschool faces a lawsuit that says it allowed a convicted child molester to continue assaulting minors.
In a lawsuit filed Dec. 12 in the Circuit Court of Sebastian County, Jane Doe, represented by attorney Joshua D. Gillispie, is suing Miss Tina’s Preschool, Inc., Jamie Leon Speaks and John Doe defendants.
The complaint alleges that Miss Tina's Preschool knowingly employed Wanda Speaks, whose husband Jamie Leon Speaks is a convicted child molester. The plaintiff claims that Jamie was regularly present at the school and allowed to be alone with children, resulting in years of sexual abuse suffered by the plaintiff at the preschool.
The plaintiff accuses Miss Tina's Preschool of negligence for failing to supervise her and other children under its care during times when Jamie Speaks was present. The suit seeks compensation for the devastating effects and damages caused by this negligence.
The case also seeks punitive damages to deter other daycares from knowingly exposing children to child molesters.
Miss Tina’s Preschool is registered as an Arkansas nonprofit corporation located in Sebastian County. The plaintiff contests this status, arguing that it operates as a for-profit business under the guise of a nonprofit to obtain tax benefits.