OKC Daycare Worker Arrested, Accused Of Sexually Abusing 4-Year-Old Student

Oklahoma City police arrested a pre-school teacher on Monday after disturbing allegations made by one of his student four months ago.

The 4-year-old girl told police she was sexually abused by Christopher Ribertone, 27, at school.

According to an arrest warrant, the student at Childcare Network daycare in northwest Oklahoma City knew Ribertone as "Mr. Chris." The warrant also revealed Ribertone was accused of molesting a daycare student three years ago in New Jersey. The results of the investigation were “Not Established.”

“They had received information that a 4-year-old victim reported to a parent that she had been sexually assaulted at a daycare,” said Sgt. Megan Morgan, Oklahoma City Police Department. 

The child claimed Ribertone abused her in a bathroom at school when no one else was there. Ribertone denied the allegations to investigators.

The Oklahoma Department of Human Services also received a complaint in July and opened an investigation.

It was not the first time DHS has looked into Ribertone. Two years ago, several children from The Goddard School in Edmond told their parents Ribertone covered their mouths with masking tape and bound their wrists.

An attorney for one of the family’s spoke out about the claims. 

“This is textbook grooming,” said Jarrod Stevenson, an attorney. “Anybody, a sexual analyst or forensic interviewer, is going to tell you that everything starts out as something innocent.”

Police searched Ribertone's apartment last month for additional evidence. Ultimately, they were able to get a warrant for his arrest.

“He was arrested for that warrant yesterday and booked into the Oklahoma County Detention Center,” said Morgan.  

Ribertone was booked in on one complaint of lewd acts with a child and his bond was set at $100,000.

DHS substantiated the allegations against Ribertone and said all of the information in their investigation can be found online.

The daycare offered a statement on Tuesday regarding the allegations:

“During the summer, we were notified of a concern about a staff member at Childcare Network #202 in Oklahoma City. The safety and well-being of the children we serve is our top priority. Our management immediately began an internal investigation. The teacher involved in this incident was suspended without pay upon notice of the concern and has been terminated. We notified the proper authorities and are cooperating fully with the investigation. We follow all state and federal requirements when hiring our employees, which include state and federal background checks.”