A Louisiana preschooler was allegedly abused at school. Then a hospital counselor discussed her chart with her principal

Roger Williams and his wife, Jana, testify at the Louisiana state capitol in support of Charlie’s Law, an early-childhood education safety measure. Photograph: Louisiana State Senate

A counselor at Louisiana’s premier pediatric hospital accessed the medical records of a girl whose parents reported that she was sexually abused by a classmate at her preschool – and then was fired after it was discovered that she shared information from the child’s file with the school’s principal, her sister-in-law, a Guardian investigation can reveal.

The details of the breach and resulting employee termination at the Manning Family children’s hospital in New Orleans came to light in a sworn deposition taken in August during civil litigation being pursued by the girl’s parents.