MCSO investigates babysitting service

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA - A mother in Mobile County made a shocking discovery after replying to a childcare ad on Craigslist.

In the home where she was about to drop her child off, lived a man facing eight child sex abuse charges.

Friday, District Attorney Ashley Rich said her office is investigating the incident.

It’s tough finding childcare for a special needs child. A woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, said she took a shot at one of the hundreds of ads posted on Craigslist.

That's where she found Monica Caraway.

"She had a husband that was a preacher. She was talking about how she had a good Christian family. She had kids of her own. This woman seemed the nicest of the nice," she said.

Nothing camp up in a background check on the woman.

Then she said she did a ‘Google search,’ the other people living in the house.

She typed in the woman's husband, Jeremy Caraway.

"I just kept digging and digging, and then I finally said, ‘Oh My goodness,’" said the woman.

After contacting the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office, they confirmed what she saw online.

Deputies said Caraway was a preacher and was indicted in Kentucky on several counts of rape, sodomy and enticing a child last year.

When the sheriff’s office confronted Mrs. Caraway about the issues, Mobile County spokesperson Lori Myles said Monica Caraway told them she didn’t think it was a problem.

“She knew he had the charges. She didn’t know keeping a child in the home would be a problem,” said Myles.

The woman who discovered the pending charges said she was concerned for her child.

"My son cannot speak. He can’t tell you what's wrong. So if somebody does something to him, I would never know," said the woman.

The Mobile County Sheriff’s Office checked out his home in Semmes.

Myles said they are concerned what could have happened and how he was able to move to Alabama while out on bond in Harlan County, Kentucky.

"He did have permission to leave as long as he showed back up for his court date, but our question is: do they have other children in their care right now? If so, do those parents know that he has these charges back in Kentucky?" said Myles.

FOX10 tried to stop by the home but no one came to the door.

"He hasn't been convicted yet, but he has some serious charges he’s facing,” said Rich.

Rich said she has been trying to contact the district attorney’s office in Kentucky to find out if he is currently allowed to have children in the home. She said most likely he is.

Rich also said right now, the Mobile County District Attorney’s Office has no evidence of a crime.

“Parents need to know that right now, before they make a decision to place their children in his home in a daycare," said Rich.

She said a lot of people could have been saved due to this courageous woman.

"I am so proud of this citizen who had the guts to come forward and tell us what was going on right here in our own community," said Rich.

The woman said your child is a gift from God and you can’t trust anybody.

"You really need to fight for your child. You really need to make sure they are safe in anybody’s hands because you've got one shot at being a mother. You can’t bring them back if something happens,” said the woman.

Caraway has also been arrested in Louisiana and Indiana and faced an armed robbery charge in Florida.