Day care worker charged with molesting a child in his care

As of press time, an official press release has not been provided by the Mountain Home Police Department regarding the arrest of a daycare worker charged with allegedly molesting a child who attended the center where he worked. However, court documents and police records show that 35-year-old Eric Junge was arrested on lewd conduct with a child under 16, on Sept. 11, and booked into the Elmore County Jail.

In a story on KIVI it had been reported that in court documents they received, a report was filed with the MHPD on Sept. 5, by a parent whose daughter said she had been "molested by her daycare worker" at Mickey and Minnie's Playhouse at 435 East 2nd North Street.

The story goes on to say that the female victim told a Children at Risk Evaluation Services (CARES) interviewer in Boise that she had sat on his lap at the center and was inappropriately touched by Junge.

It had also been reported by KTVB that allegedly, Junge admitted to "absentmindedly" touching the girl inappropriately while she was sitting on his lap. The article goes on to say that the child told detectives that Junge told her she would go to jail if she told anyone about the incident after she told him to never touch her again.

According to court records Junge was arraigned in Judge Theodore Flemings court on Sept. 12 at 1 p.m. where a no contact order was issued, forbidding him to have any contact with the alleged victim. In the story by KIVI it states that Junge is being held on $250,000 bond. However a search of the ICOURTS database and the Elmore County Jail Roster does not show any bail amount has been set in this case.

It has been reported on various news outlets that the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare issued a suspension of the daycare center’s license on Sept. 12, meaning the center is no longer allowed to operate. The suspension stems from the fact that the alleged crime is reported to have occurred at Mickey and Minnie's Playhouse and the arrest was not reported to IDHW. The operator Jane Junge can appeal this decision by filing a written request within 28 days.

It has been reported that the owner and the accused are related, but the relation is unclear as of now.

A preliminary hearing is set for Sept. 26 at 4 p.m. at the Elmore County Court House.

The Mountain Home News has reached out to the Mountain Home Police Department and have been told that an official press release will be forthcoming. We will update this article on the website at www.mountainhomenews.com as more information comes in.