Note: This story is a second part of an issue introduced last week about allegations of sexual abuse between young students at a private Celebration Christian school.
The parents of a student who attended a private Celebration Christian school say the state needs clearer rules and more transparency after alleging in a lawsuit that their daughter was repeatedly sexually abused beginning at age 4 by a classmate.
The case has exposed what the family and experts describe as a troubling gap: when the child accused is too young to face criminal charges, there may be limited ability to ensure intervention or alert another school to serious safety concerns. Law enforcement and mentalhealth experts say serious sexualized behavior among very young children cannot be dismissed as simple curiosity, especially when allegations involve repeated, coercive or developmentallyadvanced acts. The lawsuit, filed March 9 in Osceola County Circuit Court, alleges the child was sexually abused by another student her age over two school years. The parents also claim their daughter was expelled in retaliation. The school has denied in court filings that abuse occurred on campus and has also denied expelling the girl.
The civil complaint accuses CDF Celebration LLC, doing business as Creation Village World School, of negligence, negligent misrepresentation and causing loss of parental consortium. The family is seeking damages of more than $50,000 and a jury trial.
Too young for charges
The family says the girl disclosed the alleged abuse on Nov. 5, 2025. According to Osceola County Sheriff ’s Office reports, detectives documented the allegations that day and later spoke with the boy accused in the case. Detectives described him as “very hyper and had difficulty focusing at times.” He acknowledged someone had accused him of touching their private parts but said the individual was a “liar” who “got in trouble.”
The case was later closed as unfounded because investigators could not confirm criminal intent due to the children’s ages.
That outcome has left the girl’s parents asking a larger question: If a child is too young to be arrested, what system ensures the alleged offending child receives help—and how, if at all, would another school learn of serious safety concerns?
Det. Suzanne Clouchete, a Special Victims Unit investigator with the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office who has worked sex crimes for more than 20 years, said child-onchild sexual abuse allegations involving very young children happen more often than the public may realize.
“It is very common, but I just don’t think it’s reported as much to law enforcement,” Clouchete said.
Clouchete said law enforcement often works with the Child Protection Team, which is separate from the Florida Department of Children and Families and conducts forensic interviews of children. DCF, she said, generally contacts families, checks home conditions and may connect families with services.
But if the accused child is too young to face charges, she said law enforcement’s role is limited. Investigators may urge parents to seek counseling or services, but they cannot force treatment without court involvement.
“If they refuse, legally, there’s not really much we can do,” Clouchete said.
Reporting gaps
Florida law requires any person who suspects child abuse, including juvenile sexual abuse, to report it to the state abuse hotline. Schools are mandatory reporters under the statute.
But the family’s concern centers on what happens after a child accused of serious behavior leaves one school and enrolls in another. The parents said they later learned the boy was no longer at Creation Village but were never told whether he had been removed, withdrawn or enrolled elsewhere.
Clouchete said she is not aware of a general school-toschool notification requirement unless a child has been formally deemed a sex offender— something that does not apply to very young children who cannot be prosecuted.
“It’s not like they’re telling anybody if they move to another school, unfortunately,” she said.
That gap is at the center of the family’s push for statewide reforms. The family has launched a Change.org petition titled “Florida Student Safety Act: Protecting Children in Florida Schools | #NoChildUnseen.” The petition argues Florida lacks standardized requirements for reporting serious incidents such as bullying, physical abuse and child-on-child sexual abuse— potentially allowing concerning behavior to go undocumented as students transfer.
It calls for Florida lawmakers to establish consistent reporting guidelines for student safety incidents across public and private schools.
“Abuse thrives on secrecy,” the petition states.
The father, who is not being identified to protect his daughter’s identity, said he understands the boy is too young to be treated like an adult offender. But without a stronger system, he fears schools may unknowingly place other children at risk.
“What happens is, he gets to go walk into another classroom, and the school doesn’t know, teachers don’t know,” he said.
Early intervention
Marine Dordulian and Margrit Boghosian, California licensed clinical social workers who co-founded Shrinks in Sync, said child-on-child sexual behavior requires careful assessment and early intervention for both the child who experienced the behavior and the child who exhibited it.
Dordulian said some body-related curiosity is developmentally typical in young children, but repeated, secretive, coercive or aggressive behavior—especially behavior involving advanced sexual knowledge, as alleged in the lawsuit—is clinically concerning.
“That is not considered a typical development, a typical exploration,” Dordulian said.
Boghosian said repeated sexualized behavior in a young child may indicate exposure to abuse, pornography, inappropriate sexual material or boundary violations.
Clouchete echoed that concern.
“The fact that he is offending at that age is very concerning,” she said. “I seriously wonder if something happened to him and where he picked up on that.”
The girl’s parents said they also worry the boy may need help.
“In our hearts, we look at this as that boy is possibly a victim and we are just praying that he gets the help that he needs,” the father said.
Boghosian said treatment for young children often includes play therapy, trauma-informed care, body-safety education, emotional regulation work and caregiver involvement.
“Safety is key,” Boghosian said. “And part of that is also teaching the parent to supervise appropriately.”
Supervision and body safety
The lawsuit alleges the girl was abused during recess on a wooden “pirate ship” playground structure where children playing inside were hidden from staff members’ view. The school admitted in court filings the structure existed and acknowledged there were no video cameras inside it during the relevant time period, but denied that abuse occurred on campus.
Clouchete said supervision and visibility are important in school settings, though adults may not expect this type of behavior among kindergartenaged children.
“I think, too, that we don’t want to believe that that’s happening with kindergarten kids,” she said.
The clinicians said parents should not rely only on “stranger danger” conversations when teaching body safety. Children should be taught from a young age that no one—adult or child—is allowed to touch private parts or ask them to keep unsafe secrets, they said.
Clouchete also urged parents to stay on top of what their children watch online, on television and on personal devices.
“Monitor everything,” she said. “Monitor what they watch on TV, monitor their electronics.”
The girl’s father said the family’s goal in going public is not only justice for their daughter but greater transparency for other families.
“I think that’s what we really want—just more parents to be aware so more kids can be safe,” he said.
