Parents file federal claim against Travis Air Force Base amid child molestation allegations

FAIRFIELD, Calif. (KTVU) - The mother of a five-year-old described through tears how she says her daughter was molested at least twice by older children inside the bathroom of a child care center at Travis Air Force Base.

"None of the policies and procedures were done on my daughter's behalf. We are not going to be quiet about this," said Tanisha Porter.

Civil rights attorney John Burris Wednesday filed a federal claim against the base and the Travis Youth Center. 

It's a pre-cursor to a lawsuit on behalf of the young girl and her family, claiming supervision was lax.

"How could this happen? From my view, over the course of litigation, where are the pressure points? Where did the department go wrong in missing this?" said Burris.

The family says the first incident happened about five weeks ago. They say their daughter told them a girl 12 years-old or younger had molested her in the bathroom, unattended by adults. The parents say they told Travis Air Force Base officials.

Burris says the base is required by law to notify police and child protective services but did not do so. 
Then last week, another sexual assault by a different older girl.

"My baby is crying to me, ‘daddy, am I a weirdo?’ asking me if its ok for a girl to kiss another girl. That's adult stuff that people make choices when they are older. It has no business being in a five-year-old's mind," said Marcus Robinson, the girl's father.

Travis officials say the center is accredited, is run by civilians but the military oversees it.

A statement from Travis Air Force Base says:

"Upon notification, immediate action was taken to inform affected families and engage proper agencies to both thoroughly investigate the incident and review procedures." 

Porter, the girl's mother told of the ordeal on Facebook. Burris says she was pressured by Travis Air Force Base to remove the post.

"No child should have to go through what our daughter went through," said Porter.

Fairfield police are investigating and the base says it has told parents it is working on improving procedures to better monitor the children especially in the bathroom.