The Goddard School employee charged in inappropriate touching case

It's the sort of thing you don't want to believe. Someone paid to care for children but preying on them instead.

"There's requirements you know you have to follow," said Norman Sinegal, the grandparent of a student at The Goddard School in Pearland. "There's procedures put in place and if you follow those procedures, these things won't happen."

Pearland police say that on Dec. 27, 2018, a seven-year-old girl told officers that school staff member Derion Hanson hugged her repeatedly and touched her inappropriately.

Police arrested Hanson on Jan. 10 and he had confessed to the crime. He was charged for Indecency with a child by contact.

"I'd say this is an excellent opportunity for parents to talk to their children about what's appropriate and what's not appropriate," said Pearland Police Department Officer Jeffrey Evans. "Not just at school but at sports activities and life in general."

What are the hiring procedures at The Goddard School and were those procedures followed? The Goddard School in Pearland is an independently-owned franchise. The owner of the campus declined to speak and referred FOX 26 News to the schools' corporate headquarters. Some parents and guardians praised the school administrators for rapidly addressing problems, including Sinegal.

"Right on them, jump right on them," said Sinegal. "But that does not erase the fact, does not erase the fact."

Corporate media relations for The Goddard School campuses have not yet responded to FOX 26.