A licensed home daycare in Hyannis, Cape Cod, has permanently closed following the arrest of Andre Tiago Lucas, a Brazilian national and convicted child rapist, who had been residing at the facility. Franciele Nunes, the daycare owner, allowed her license from the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) to lapse earlier this year, and had operated the daycare for three years prior to its closure.
Lucas was apprehended by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Bourne, Massachusetts, after evading a nine-year prison sentence in Brazil for raping a 13-year-old girl. Sheriff Lew Evangelidis expressed his alarm regarding the situation, highlighting the dangers of someone with such a severe criminal history living in a childcare environment.
Although EEC records indicate that the agency inspected Nunes’s daycare five times, they reported no evidence of Lucas’s presence during those visits. This has sparked concerns about the effectiveness of EEC’s oversight procedures. State Representative Steven Xiarhos called for more rigorous safety measures, emphasizing the necessity for thorough background checks to protect vulnerable children.
Critically, the EEC mandates background checks for individuals aged 15 or older who reside or frequently visit home daycares. However, these background checks do not extend to criminal records from outside the United States, which means that Lucas’s previous conviction in Brazil would not have been detected even if disclosed by Nunes.
The incident has brought attention to the limitations of Massachusetts’s current background check regulations and the urgent need for improvements in the oversight of home daycare facilities to ensure the safety of children.
Nunes has refused to comment publicly on the matter, and the investigation is ongoing. The community remains concerned while authorities assess the situation and consider reforms to enhance the protection of children in daycare settings.