South Jersey Man Sexually Assaulted 2 Kids At Daycare He Owned: Police

PHILADELPHIA, PA — A South Jersey man who owns and operates a Philadelphia daycare center has been charged with crimes related to sexual assault of children, according to Philadelphia Police.

Duncan Round, 53, the owner-operator of Sprouts Children's Center at 604 South 9th Street in Philadelphia, surrendered to the Philadelphia Police Department's Special Victims Unit Wednesday, police said.

Round, of Medford Lakes, faces two counts each of eight felony charges, police said. Those charges include rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, unlawful contact with a minor, statutory sexual assault, sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child, corruption of a minor, and indecent exposure, police said.

Round was charged after two children, a boy and a girl both 5 years old, reported being abused while at the daycare, police said. Authorities began investigating the alleged abuse in late July, police said.

Police served a search warrant on the South 9th Street facility and found physical evidence of abuse, police said.

Police allege the abuse occurred on multiple occasions at the daycare facility. However, specific dates for the alleged abuse were not provided.

Authorities said anyone who believes their children may be victims of abuse at Sprouts should contact the Special Victims Unit. While police said no reports of other victims have been made, they are concerned other victims may be out there.

While Round is in police custody, Sprouts remains open, police said. Sprouts has not returned calls from Patch for a comment on the charges.

Story written by Max Bennett (Patch Staff)

Image via Google