The co-owner of a home day care center was indicted by a grand jury and charged with taking indecent liberties with a 7-year-old girl.
Debbie's Darlings Daycare is still open and parents are still dropping their children off for the day.
Larry Cole, 53, was indicted on Feb. 22 and arrested on March 2 following the investigation by Lenoir police into the allegations of molestation that were reported on Nov. 13.
His bond was set at $5,000 secured, which Cole paid at the magistrate's office where he was released without being jailed.
Cole and his wife Deborah operate the business from their home at 2228 Olde Well Road in Hudson.
Lenoir police learned of the child molestation allegations when a woman told officers that her granddaughter complained of soreness during a bath and said "Pawpaw Larry" had touched her in her private area while the other children were asleep.
Cole was not available for comment, but his wife denies the allegations.
"It's not true because I was here when they said it happened," she said.
Cole declined to speak further to reporters and said her state license consultant was at the home for her annual inspection to evaluate the business.
After the victim told her grandmother about the incident on Nov. 11, the Department of Social Services investigated and interviewed the child.
On Nov. 16, the Coles' license to operate a day care was suspended. The DSS investigator went to Debbie's Darlings, took the license off the wall. The investigator told the parents about the charges when they came to pick up their children.
The notice that accompanied the notice of suspension said, "The Division of Child Development has determined that Debbie's Darlings Daycare is not a safe and healthy environment for children and that conditions at the center represent an imminent danger to children."
Lenoir police served a search warrant on Nov. 19 and confiscated the pink chair where the victim said she was ordered to sit while Cole assaulted her.
Deborah Cole filed an appeal against the suspension of the day care's license and Judge Donald W. Overby temporarily lifted the suspension on Dec. 29.
The order states, "As of the date of this hearing, there were no findings or substantiations by the Division of Social Services or DCD, nor has Mr. Cole been charged with any crime related to the allegations."
The judge did order that Cole not be around the children at the day care.
The reinstated license states, "Larry A. Cole shall not be on any part of the premises from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. on days which the center is opened for business."
It goes on to say that Cole will stay with his mother in Lenoir between 5 a.m. and 1 p.m. when he will drive to his job in Gastonia at Johnson Distributors from 2:30 p.m. until 10:30 p.m.
The temporary license reinstatement will be evaluated in a hearing but no date has been set.
Debbie's Darlings caters to children up to 12 years old and is licensed to care for up to 12 children at a time.
The North Carolina Division of Child Development conducted an investigation into allegations of abuse and neglect on Nov. 16. The investigators found no violations during their visit, according to the organization's Web site.
It also inspected the business on Jan. 5 and gave it a perfect score for sanitation.
Cole's next court date is scheduled for May 3.
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