A 29-year-old man is charged with sexually assaulting a child who went to his after-school and summer camp programs in Charlotte. The man didn't have a license for those programs.

Eyewitness News found out that he was not legally required to have one, which would mean state oversight.

Christopher Hines said nothing to Eyewitness News when he left court last month. He's charged with a felony sex offense against a 10-year-old boy who attended an after-school and summer camp program Hines ran out of his home called Youth Crossing.

 “Mr. Hines is innocent of these charges, entirely innocent of these charges, and that's where this case is going to end up,” said Tony Scheer, Hines' attorney.

The boy's father told Eyewitness News a different story.

“It is a parent's worst nightmare,” said the father, who Eyewitness News is not identifying to protect his son.

He said he sent his son to Hines' camp last summer after hearing good reviews from other parents. A year later, he said, his son was sexually abused by Hines.

“Just the tremendous amount of pain that he was going through, having to come out and say that this happened to him,” the father said.

He said he was even angrier to find out Hines was not a licensed child care provider, because he didn't have to be.

“Somehow these facilities should be licensed and looked after over the state, checked in on -- just to make sure they're running a safe environment for kids,” he said.

North Carolina law says if a child care operation runs less than four hours a day, such as after-school programs, or seasonal, such as summer camps, it's not required to have a state license.

“Anything can happen in an unlicensed environment. There is no oversight,” said Janet Singerman, who works with Childcare Resources Inc., a nonprofit that connects families with childcare in Charlotte.

She said while many programs aren't required to be licensed, regulation is crucial to children’s safety.

“Licensure ensures families that their children will be in settings that meet basic health, safety, programmatic, educational standards,” Singerman said.

She believes more regulation is needed for all childcare operations.

“I think changes absolutely could be made to keep children safer,” Singerman said.

Eyewitness News took those concerns to North Carolina Rep. Ruth Samuelson, who's pushed childcare safety legislation in the past.

“I think it would be wise for the legislature to look at it,” Samuelson said.

Samuelson said while the lack of licensing for some programs raised a red flag, she'd want to be careful not to over-regulate businesses.

“In other cases where your neighbor is staying with your children for a weekend, do we need to regulate that? At what point is that line? I don't know, but the legislature can definitely look at it,” she said.

In the meantime, the father Eyewitness News spoke to has advice for parents.

“Check into the facilities that you have your kids into. Check into the people that are looking over your kids,” he said.

Hines is only charged right now -- not convicted. However, the state Division of Child Development said he is disqualified from ever working in a regulated child care facility.

To search Childcare Resources Inc's database of providers, click here.

To search the North Carolina Division of Child Development & Early Education database of providers, click here.