Case:               20-3240726
 
Date:               October 2016 – November 2020
 
Location:         Reggio Emilia Multilingual Preschool Academy
                        5710 McCarty Ln Austin, TX 78749

Arrested:         Steven Ahlberg, White male, 20 years old
 
On Friday, Austin Police Department’s Tac Intel Unit arrested Steven Ahlberg, on charges of Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child. Steven Ahlberg was an employee of the Reggio Emilia Multilingual Preschool Academy located at 5710 McCarty Lane Austin, TX 78749.
 
The Austin Police Department (APD) is requesting any parent who had their child enrolled in Reggio Emilia Multilingual Preschool Academy from October 2016 – December 2020 contact the police if they have any information about suspected physical or sexual abuse of children.   
 
On November 19, 2020, an 8-year-old child told her family that she had been sexually abused at her old daycare by “Mr. Steven”. The victim stated that the sexual abuse happened on multiple occasions. All of the abuse happened between November 2017 and October 2018 when the victim was only 5 years old.
 
The investigation revealed that the victim was enrolled in Reggio Emilia Multilingual Preschool Academy during the specified time frame. Multiple sources confirmed that the only person a child at the daycare would know as “Mr. Steven” would be 20-year-old Steven Ahlberg.

As a result of this investigation, the Department of Family Protective Services, Child Care Investigations barred Steven Ahlberg from having any access to the school or its children starting on December 4, 2020. Steven agreed to a plan that prohibited him from having contact with and caring for children who attend or have attended Reggio Emilia. The same plan prohibited Steven from entering the premises of Reggio Emilia.
 
At this time, no other victims have come forward. APD understands that some parents will want to start conversations with their children as a result of this information. If parents decide to start those conversations, APD recommends that they start as broad conversations about body safety. A parent might ask, for example, “Do you know what parts of your body should stay private? If anybody ever did something that made you worried about those parts, you could talk to me. You wouldn’t be in any trouble.” It would not be appropriate to single out Steven Ahlberg or any other employee of the school in a direct question to a child. If the child brings a specific person up of their own accord, then the parent could follow up on that.
 
APD Child Abuse Detective Lambert #6115 is investigating this case. Anyone that has information about the physical or sexual abuse of children that result from these inquiries can contact APD’s Child Abuse Unit at 512-974-6880. If they would like to speak to a Victim Services counselor, please call 512-974-5037.