A young girl’s parents have filed a lawsuit alleging that a now-shuttered Brownsburg daycare and its leaders are partially responsible for the repeated sexual abuse of their daughter.
The civil lawsuit, filed in Hendricks County Superior Court on Dec. 10, seeks damages on behalf of one of at least eight victims identified in a multi-agency investigation into Main Street University 4 Kidz earlier this year.
State officials closed the day care on May 8, 2025, after one of its employees, Gabriel Garner, was arrested on accusations of child molestation.
Police investigating Garner learned that the facility’s owner, Nancy Minton, and its director, Jennyfer Lingbeck, knew of multiple abuse allegations levied against Garner over the past year but never contacted law enforcement or the Department of Child Services.
A forensic analysis of Garner’s phone uncovered a trove of child sex abuse material, including at least 130 photos and videos captured at Main Street University 4 Kidz.
Garner was ultimately charged with 48 felonies, including child exploitation, possession of child pornography and public voyeurism. On May 16, prosecutors charged both Minton and Lingbeck with three counts of obstruction of justice, one count of neglect of a dependent and one count of failure to make a report. All have pleaded not guilty, and all cases remain pending at the time of publication.
The girl at the center of the Dec. 10 lawsuit was abused multiple times in 2024 and 2025, when she was 4 and 5 years old, according to the parents’ complaint. The child is identified as “Janie Doe” in court documents. IndyStar is not naming the child’s parents to protect her identity.
“The sexual assault(s) of Janie Doe were directly and proximately caused by the carelessness and negligence of one or more of the defendants,” the lawsuit reads in part.
Among the daycare leadership’s alleged negligent acts were failure to report abuse; hiring Garner “without proper diligence, credentials, or investigation” and retaining him even after receiving “credible complaints of his inappropriate behavior.”
Under Indiana law, all adults are mandated reporters. Child care employees have the additional responsibility to report any allegations of abuse by employees both to DCS and the child’s parents.
“By failing to properly follow the regulations articulated by state law, the Defendants’ conduct throughout 2024 and 2025 amounts to willful and wanton conduct done with malice and reckless disregard for the rights and safety of others, particularly the minor children entrusted to their care,” the parents’ lawyers wrote.
The parents do not ask for a specific amount of money in the lawsuit.
At the time of publication, no defendants have filed a response to the allegations contained within the filing. Online court records do not list attorneys for Main Street University 4 Kidz, Minton or Lingbeck.
Ryan Murphy is the communities reporter for IndyStar. She can be reached at rhmurphy@indystar.com.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Parents sue Brownsburg daycare center after abuse, neglect arrests
Reporting by Ryan Murphy, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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