Daycare loses license after former teacher accused of fondling child

CHARLOTTE, NC (AP) — State officials have suspended the license of a Charlotte daycare after a former teacher was accused of fondling children.

The Division of Child Development and Early Education notified Primrose School of Ballantyne in a letter dated Wednesday that its license was suspended because conditions “represent immediate danger” to children there.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police said Monday it learned on March 7 of a forcible fondling incident at the school involving an 8-year-old boy. During the investigation, detectives found that a 7-year-old boy was also fondled at the school. Both incidents occurred while 35-year-old Joseph Starnes was a teacher at Primrose.

The state said school leaders failed to notify an assistant director of the initial incident, and that she placed Starnes in a room with younger children after learning of that first incident.