A Canada-wide warrant has been issued for 32-year-old Dilpreet Chawla, months after he allegedly assaulted a child at a south Edmonton daycare.
Chawla is a former daycare educator. He is facing sexual assault, sexual contact, and sexual counsel charges of a female child that was in his class at Willowbrae Academy Millcreek.
The offence allegedly happened between January and May of this year at the daycare located on 83 Street near 77 Avenue. The accused worked in a class of 17 children who are between the ages of four and five years old.
Alberta’s education ministry said it became aware of the allegations on June 18.
“(We) immediately began an investigation. A safety plan was put in place, and the educator’s certification was suspended once the police investigation and possible charges were confirmed, as is the policy when certified educators are under investigation or charged by police,” Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said in a statement.
“He cannot work as an early childhood educator in any child-care program while suspended,” Nicolaides added. “The program is legally required to post the results of child-care investigations on site for all parents to see, but results do not name specific individuals.”
Britt Meropoulis had her daughter in the same class as the victim during the time of the alleged sexual assault.
She said a report from the province was given to Willowbrae on Aug. 19 but parents were not made aware until Aug. 22, when an email was sent out and a letter was posted in the front entrance of the daycare.
“All that had said was there was inappropriate touching and the shed was involved,” Meropoulis said in reference to a small building in the outdoor play space at the daycare.
Global News reached out to Willowbrae Academy Millcreek for an interview but they only provided a statement.
“As soon as we were made aware of the allegation, we took immediate action: the staff member was removed from the premises, and both provincial licensing authorities and the Edmonton Police were notified. We have been fully cooperative with their investigation at every step,” the daycare said.
“We know that many parents and guardians felt the delay in sharing information was unacceptable and for that we sincerely apologize.”
A Canada-wide warrant has been issued for a former child-care worker Dilpreet Chawla, 32, who is accused of sexually assaulting a little girl at Willowbrae Academy Millcreek in southeast Edmonton in July 2025.
Supplied to Global News
An in-person town hall meeting for parents was held on Monday, Sept 8.
Meropoulis said the parent of the child who was allegedly abused stood up at the townhall and explained what had happened to her daughter away from the daycares cameras.
“(The accused) phrased it as a silly game,” Meropoulis said. “Once we had that wording, specifically, we could all ask our kids, ‘Did you ever play a silly game with Dilpreet, did you ever go in the shed with Dilpreet and play a silly game?’”
Parents have many questions and worry there may be other victims.
“He was there for years,” Meropoulis said. Her daughter was often alone with the accused at the daycare.
“She was with him alone all the time, I was told at the town hall he was never alone with kids, and I said that’s a lie,” said Meropoulis.
“Every time I picked her up, if it was 3:30 or 4 o’clock he was alone with kids, an entire floor, he was the only adult.”
Global News asked the Edmonton Police Service for more details, such as why the public was not informed of the charges, but none was provided.
“We are unable to provide information about this file given it is currently before the criminal courts,” an Edmonton police spokesperson said in an email on Sept. 12.
Meropoulis is upset at being left in the dark for so long.
“It made me sick to think, this happened months and months ago and so even if it happened yesterday, I wouldn’t know how to talk to [my daughter] about it,” Meropoulis said.
However given all this time has passed, it just made it really challenging to understand how to have that conversation with my daughter.”
Edmonton police said they cannot disclose when the warrant for Chawla was issued.
Meropoulis said her daughter told her, “Dilpreet has been on vacation for a really long time.”
Parents were told the accused is no longer in Canada.
At the town hall meeting, “the man who owns this location of the franchise is the one who told us that [Chawla] has fled the country, so that was what we were told,” Meropoulis said.
Meropoulis said her and several other parents have begun pulling their children out of Willowbrae Academy Millcreek.
One of her daughters is still attending Willowbrae while they wait for a spot to open up at another daycare.
“”We’ve had to send her a couple of days, and it’s completely distracting — I can’t think about anything except for the fact that she’s there,” said Meropoulis.
“Not that I don’t have faith in a lot of the educators that are there — they are wonderful — but I have no faith in the management and the way that it is being run.”
As of Sunday afternoon, the shed where the alleged sexual assault happened in the outdoor fenced play area, had been removed and replaced by two smaller storage containers.