Cloverdale daycare under investigation
The Cloverdale Police Department has launched a "preliminary investigation" at an area child daycare center, according to Deputy Marshal Jason Baugh who is leading the probe.
Baugh would not say what type of investigation he was conducting at Ju Ju's Daycare, but he said he began the investigation Thursday morning. He also said he was not conducting an independent investigation but declined to identify which agencies are assisting him.
A relative of a child at the daycare center contacted the BannerGraphic Thursday afternoon to say that the children from the daycare were sent home Thursday and parents were told the facility was being closed indefinitely. The relative believes there were as many as 15 children being cared for at the center.
Neither Baugh nor the daycare's owner, Julie Hoffa, would confirm or deny that the daycare center had been closed.
A woman who answered the phone at the daycare center and identified herself as Hoffa declined to comment for this story by saying "not today, thanks" and hanging up the phone.
Cloverdale Police Chief Don Pearson also declined to comment on the nature of the investigation but said the prosecutor's office has been notified.
Phone calls made to the prosecutor and his investigator were not immediately returned. However, a source later confirmed that Child Protective Services and the prosecutor's special investigator will interview people involved Friday.