Missoula daycare provider arrested for rape of 4-year-old girl

By TRISTAN SCOTT | Posted: Wednesday, April 7, 2010 6:30 am

A 70-year-old Missoula child care provider was arrested Tuesday for allegedly having sexual intercourse with a 4-year-old girl under his supervision.

Charged with a felony count of sexual intercourse without consent, Albert Elmer Gaub faces a maximum penalty of 100 years in the Montana State Prison for the alleged offense, and a minimum punishment of four years in prison. He also faces a fine of up to $50,000, and remains jailed at the Missoula County Detention Facility on $250,000 bail.

Chief Deputy Missoula County Attorney Kirsten Pabst asked for a high bail amount in Gaub's case "due to the egregious facts" alleged by law enforcement and detailed in charging documents. Pabst said Gaub constituted a risk to community safety.

According to court records, Gaub allegedly had sexual contact with the young victim on numerous occasions between Oct. 1, 2008, and April 2, 2010, and the contact included sexual intercourse.

Gaub voluntarily relinquished his child care license to the state Department of Health and Human Services' Quality Assurance Division. He and his wife operated the Cuddles and More child care business out of their Missoula home.

Gaub's wife also was a child care provider, records state, however she was not aware of the alleged abuse and has suffered a number of strokes. A public defender representing Gaub in court on Tuesday said the man is the primary caregiver for his spouse, and asked that bail be set at a smaller amount.

Records state that the victim told her parents about the abuse last week and the family went to law enforcement.

During an interview with Sgt. Tony Rio of the Missoula County Sheriff's Office, Gaub admitted that the sexual contact began about a year-and-a-half ago, records state, and told the officer that "although I knew better, I just didn't know when to stop."

During the interview, Gaub told the investigator that the alleged victim is a smart and honest child, and described her as "four going on forty," records state.

The investigation is ongoing.

From: http://www.missoulian.com/news/local/article_5c434d58-41cf-11df-b5fd-001cc4c03286.html