Daycare Nightmare: Female Worker Confesses to Raping Children in Employee Bathroom

Six Ohio families are experiencing a parent’s worst nightmare this summer after learning that an employee at their day care center has pleaded guilty to multiple charges of sexually assaulting children as young as a year old. Heather Koon, 27, is in jail after confessing to victimizing six children. Her boyfriend, James S. Osborne, 37, is also in jail on related charges.

The nightmare began in 2013 when authorities followed up on a registered sex offender, James S. Osborne; what the police uncovered that day was much worse than a failure to register at a new address. In 2011, Osborne was convicted of pandering obscenity involving a minor. This charge involves the creation, reproduction or publishing of any “obscene material that has a minor as one of its participants or portrayed observers.” Osborne received 5 years probation and was also required to register as a sex offender. While he was registered, Osborne was not staying at the address he listed. Another condition of his probation was a prohibition on accessing the Internet during the probation.

In the fall of 2013, police located Osborne at the home of his girlfriend, Heather Koon. According to 2013 reports, “Deputies found and confiscated a laptop Osborne said he had been playing Facebook games on. Deputies also seized a cellular phone that had a sexually explicit photo of a girl on it.” On the computer, which belonged to Koon, police uncovered a video of Koon “engaging in sexual conduct with an unknown infant,” believed to be as young as one year old. These discoveries led to the arrest of Koon.

Before the arrest, Koon was employed at ABC Kidz (Elyria, Ohio) and Country Day School (Amherst, Ohio), working directly with young children at both jobs. According to Morning Journal, “Koon allegedly removed four children from their assigned room… and took them to an employee bathroom. She sexually assaulted the children and videotaped the incidents using her cell phone, then sent the images to Osborne to view, according to records filed by the Lorain County Prosecutor’s Office.” She chose her victims, took them where she knew she would have privacy, and then shared her criminal acts with her boyfriend.

Prosecutors have indicated that Koon’s actions were “provoked” by Osborne. The pair faced 81-count and 40-count indictments respectively for their crimes against six different young children. Four of the children were raped and the fifth and sixth victims, ages one and three, were photographed in an inappropriate manner.

Koon and Osborne both pleaded guilty “to multiple charges, while some other charges were dismissed because legally they are allied offenses and by law the court could not impose sentences for them, according to the court ruling.” The report continues: “Koon and Osborne both pleaded not guilty to specifications labeling them sexual violent predators and opted to try those specifications in court.” Both will return later in July for status conferences and then for their sentencing hearings.

Koon pleaded guilty to the following charges :

• 4 counts of rape
• 4 counts of kidnapping
• 4 counts of pandering obscenity involving a minor
• 2 counts of use of a minor in a nudity-oriented material or performance
• Tampering with evidence
• Engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity

Osborne pleaded guilty to the following charges:

• 4 counts of complicity to rape
• 4 counts of complicity to kidnaping
• 4 counts of pandering obscenity involving a minor
• 2 counts of use of a minor in a nudity-oriented material or performance
• Engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity
• Failure to register address

The greatest tragedy is that six children were violated. While their offenders will spend time in jail for their crimes, some of these children will carry the weight of these crimes for the rest of their lives. It is extremely important to know what adults are coming into contact with your children. Conduct your own background checks and let your childcare providers know that you will stop in for random visits. Keeping our children safe from predators like Koon and Osborne has to be the top priority of parents.