Founder of Christian nursery school charged with 'lewd fondling' of three children

Dennis Creason facing three charges relating to alleged attacks on children under the age of 14

Creason has been charged with several child sex offences by authorities in Kansas (Johnson County Sheriff’s Office)

The founder of a Christian nursery school in Kansas is facing a string of charges relating to alleged sexual assaults on children.

Dennis Creason has been charged with three counts of aggravated indecent liberties - the lewd fondling or touching of a child under the age of 14.

The 49-year-old, who was arrested on Thursday, is listed as a co-founder of Oaklawn Christian Montessori School in Shawnee, around nine miles from Kansas City.

The charges are thought to be in relation to incidents said to have taken place between January 2015 and August 2018.

Court documents do not disclose whether the alleged victims were pupils at the nursery.

Creason had been listed as a “school administrator” prior on Oaklawn’s website prior to his arrest, although the entire site has since been taken down.

The nursery, which opened in 2004, says it specialises in art, music and nature-based programmes for children ages 12 and under.

Because of the age of the victims involved in the case, the charges are being treated as “off grid”, a status reserved in Kansas for the most serious crimes with long mandatory sentences.

Creason, who is being held at a jail in the nearby city of Olathe, was due to appear at Johnson County District Court at 1.30pm CDT (7.30pm BST) on Friday afternoon.

His bail bond has been set at $1m (£770,000).