Roanoke County police have arrested a former day school teacher on charges that he molested a 4-year-old boy at the school.

Thomas Daniel Nuckles, 48, of Montgomery County is charged with forcible sodomy and aggravated sexual battery of a minor at Country Bear Day School on Starkey Road.

The investigation began after the child's parents notified Roanoke County police on April 20, the day after the alleged incident, said police Lt. Chuck Mason.

The parents said they believed their son had been molested by a male teacher at the school. Authorities quickly identified Nuckles as a suspect, Mason said.

Aimee Sparger, administrative director of Country Bear, said Nuckles was placed on leave as soon as the school learned of the accusation, which was April 25.

Nuckles was arrested Tuesday at his home in Shawsville.

Mason said he is unaware of any other alleged victims. "We're only aware of one incident," he said.

He and Sparger declined to say how long Nuckles had been employed at the school.

Sparger said that a background check by Virginia State Police found that Nuckles had no prior criminal convictions.

"As a condition of employment, extensive and thorough background checks are conducted on all of our employees," she said. "The employee in question passed those checks and came to us with impeccable references.

"We're very disturbed about the allegations," Sparger said. "We have been and will continue to cooperate fully with the police on this matter."

The allegations sparked concerns among parents of children enrolled at the school.

Shikha Vasudeva said a school administrator told her about the arrest when she picked up her 2-year-old son from school Friday afternoon. She said her son was not one of Nuckles' students.

Even so, Vasudeva said she was "terrified" by the news. "They should have told us about this before," she said.

Vasudeva added that she planned to discuss with her husband whether they will keep their son at the school.

Both the Roanoke County Department of Social Services and the Virginia Department of Social Services have conducted investigations into the matter, said Elaine Moore, a licensing inspector for the state department.

The state social services department found that the day school was compliant with state standards, Moore said.

Betty McCrary, director of county social services, declined to confirm whether her agency has investigated the incident.

Moore said that state-licensed child care centers are required to have employees sign a sworn statement on their first day that they have not been convicted of certain crimes.

The employer has 30 days from the employee's first day to have state police conduct a criminal background check. Moore said the employer also must search a statewide database during the first month to determine whether the employee has had any complaints against him that have been sustained by social services agencies.

In addition to Moore's investigation regarding the allegation against Nuckles, she conducted a routine licensing-renewal inspection of Country Bear in February.

An online report of Moore's findings lists 19 violations that ranged from liquid detergent found in an area accessible to children to an incomplete medication log. Moore noted in an interview that licensing renewal inspections are wide-ranging and look at every standard.

One of the violations mentioned that a criminal background check of one employee -- not Nuckles -- had not been completed even though the employee had been hired nearly eight months earlier.

Moore said her February inspection of Country Bear was good overall.

"It's professionally run, qualified staff; the children are well-supervised," Moore said.

Nuckles is being held without bond at the Roanoke County-Salem Jail. He has a hearing scheduled for Nov. 21 in Roanoke County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.