Exclusive: Oakland Park Summer Camp Counselor Arrested For Child Abuse

OAKLAND PARK (CBSMiami) - A city of Oakland Park summer camp counselor is under arrest accused of child abuse and parents of campers tell CBS 4 News that no one from the camp notified them of the arrest.

Investigators with the Broward Sheriff's Office say John Telucien, 26, engaged in private instant messaging with a 9-year-old female camper and admitted to detectives that he told the girl he loved her and was sexually attracted to her.

According to an arrest report, the girl's aunt questioned the child about messages the girl was receiving on an application called Kik. The child said they were from a man named John, who was a counselor at her camp. The girl's father quickly reported the allegations to the camp officials.

The arrest report says Telucien, who told deputies that he supervised 120 campers, deleted the application from his phone before being questioned by camp staff. When the case was turned over to BSO, detectives reported that Telucien initially tried to cover up having a conversation with the girl before admitting that he did give the girl his Kik username. During questioning, BSO says Telucien admitted communicating with two other girls as well. The arrest report says Teliucien "stated that he thought the girls were cute and if society accepted it then he would most likely like young girls."

The girl told investigators that when Telucien gave her his Kik username he "told her to hide it so nobody would find it." The girl said she hid it in her shoe. The girl said "Telucien licked her on the forehead and then said that she tasted 'sweet and sweaty.'"

The City of Oakland Park says they quickly suspended then fired Telucien who was a part-time camp counselor for several years. BSO arrested Telucien on a child abuse and battery charge last week. Parents of campers said the news came as a surprise.

Click here to WATCH CBS4's Carey Codd's report

"Pretty scary when it's a city of Oakland Park camp," said parent Simon Gillings. "Glad that he's arrested. It's a good thing."

Parent Jennifer Saliva said she is angry that no one from the camp notified the parents.

"They should have absolutely notified the parents because they've been with our kids all day long," Saliva told CBS 4's Carey Codd. "That's just not right."

In the arrest report, BSO says Telucien was aware of what he was doing. "Telucien stated several times that he knew it was wrong to have those thoughts, yet he continued to act on those thoughts and initiated unwanted physical contact with (the victim,)" the report reads.

In a statement, the city of Oakland Park told CBS 4 News that ‪"Our City Administration takes these allegations in a most serious manner and initiated immediate action to ensure the safety and security for all participants in the City programs and activities. The City staff has offered its fullest cooperation with the police investigation."‬

An Oakland Park spokesperson told CBS 4 News that following the incident, the city reviewed the hiring and training policies and procedures for employees and reiterated personal conduct policies and procedures with employees.

We tried to speak with John Telucien and his family tonight about these allegations but his family did not want to speak with us.

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