photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Mateo Emilio Clavel Wills is pictured during a motions hearing on March 3, 2023, in Douglas County District Court. Wills is accused of multiple sex crimes against a 3- and 4-year-old at the Raintree Montessori School in Lawrence.

A special prosecutor opposed any bond modifications Friday in Douglas County District Court for a child care worker accused of sex crimes at Lawrence’s Raintree Montessori School, citing an alleged confession for crimes involving two children.

The child care worker, Mateo Emilio Clavel Wills, 20, of Lawrence, faces four counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child under the age of 14. Two of the counts are in connection with a 3-year-old and two counts are for alleged acts with a 4-year-old, according to charging documents. The charges are off-grid felonies and could result in a life sentence if Wills is convicted.

The charges relate to alleged incidents between November 2021 and July 2022 at Raintree, 4601 Clinton Parkway, when Wills was a part-time child care worker at the school. Wills was arrested on July 6, 2022.

photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Raintree Montessori School, 4601 Clinton Parkway, pictured on July 8, 2022.

A motions hearing was set for Friday, when Wills’ defense attorney, Angela Keck, was scheduled to present evidence from a psychological evaluation of Wills in support of suppressing statements that he made to police after his arrest.

The defense and the state agreed to delay the motions hearing to give the special prosecutor from Jackson County, Missouri, Jeannette Wolpink, time to review the evaluation. Judge Sally Pokorny scheduled a new hearing for April 21. Pokorny said that she would review video of the psychological evaluation as well as Wills’ interview with police before the next hearing.

The Douglas County District Attorney’s Office has not disclosed why a special prosecutor is being used. When asked by the Journal-World on Jan. 11, the office said, “We are unable to comment.”

Keck also made a motion to reduce Wills’ bond, which is currently set at $750,000. Pokorny asked if the motion for bond modification was related to the contents of the psychological evaluation, and Keck said that it was, but no further details on that matter were discussed in court.

Keck also said that Wills’ bond should be modified because he has strong family support as demonstrated by the number of people at the hearing. About a dozen people in the gallery Friday appeared to be supporters of Wills or his family. Keck said that two of those people were willing to take Wills into their home and that they have no children. Keck also said that Wills was not a flight risk because he wants to “fight the case.”

photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Mateo Emilio Clavel Wills, left, and his defense attorney, Angela Keck, are pictured during a motions hearing on March 3, 2023, in Douglas County District Court. Wills is accused of multiple sex crimes against a 3- and 4-year-old at the Raintree Montessori School in Lawrence.

Wolpink, who appeared via Zoom, said that she would object to any bond modifications due to the nature of the crime and “due to the confession” to police after his arrest regarding two children at the school.

During Wills’ first appearance in July 2022, Deputy District Attorney Joshua Seiden said that Wills was responsible for watching children during nap time, which is when the crimes are alleged to have happened.

Pokorny said on Friday that she would take the bond modification under advisement but that she would not rule on the matter until after the hearing on April 21. After the hearing, Wills was returned to the Douglas County Jail, where he has been in custody since his arrest.

Shortly after Wills was taken into custody, the affidavit in support of his arrest was sealed by Chief Judge James McCabria on the grounds that releasing it “would jeopardize the mental or emotional safety or well-being of the victims and would interfere with any prospective criminal investigation of the matter.”

Parents of students at Raintree were frustrated and angry after they learned of the allegations only after reading an article in the Journal-World. Some parents reached out to the Journal-World after Wills’ arrest and said that the administration at Raintree failed to provide them with basic information, including that police had been at the school and whether or not Wills had interacted with their children.

At the time, Raintree officials said in an email to parents that they were directed by police not to share any information and that parents were to contact police with additional questions. The school later told parents in an email that it planned to provide regular updates about the matter, though some parents told the Journal-World last summer that they were not receiving updates. Weeks after Wills’ arrest, some Raintree parents said they set up their own support group with a representative from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to learn how to better communicate with their children and how to ask them about possible abuse.

photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Mateo Emilio Clavel Wills is pictured during a motions hearing on March 3, 2023, in Douglas County District Court. Wills is accused of aggravated indecent liberties with two preschool-aged children at the Raintree Montessori School in Lawrence.