This post was originally published on this site
Santa Ana – An in-home behavioral therapist has been charged with m*lesting an autistic boy under the age of 14 during a session in the boy’s Garden Grove home, according to the OCDA.
Authorities are asking for anyone with additional information about 32-year-old Salvador Armando Arriaga or any other potential victims to contact the Garden Grove Police Department.
Arriaga, who was employed by Behavioral Health Works in Anaheim, has been charged with one felony count of a l*wd and l*scivious act on a child under the age of 14 as well as an allegation that he went into the child’s home with the intent to m*lest him.
He faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life if convicted. Arriaga is currently being held in lieu of $1 million bail.
Anyone with additional information about Arriaga or any other potential victims is asked to contact Garden Grove Police Department Detective Sindy Orozco at 714-741-5872 or sindyo@ggcity.org.
On September 18, 2024, Arriaga was at the boy’s home to provide him with behavioral therapy as he had several times in the past.
Arriaga is accused of holding the therapy session in the boy’s bedroom while the boy’s father stayed in the living room to care for another child.
The father became concerned when he no longer heard any conversation coming from the room and went in to check on his son. But when he opened the door, he did not see his son or the therapist.
When he opened the door of the walk-in closet, he found his son with his pants down and the boy’s therapist on his knees with his head near his son’s lap.
After being confronted by the boy’s father, Arriaga is accused of trying to escape through a bedroom window before running out the door. The boy’s father called Garden Grove police.
Arriaga is accused of changing his shirt and returning to the boy’s home while officers were still there.
Arriaga was arrested on suspicion of l*wd act on a child. Over the next several months, the Garden Grove Police Department continued to gather additional evidence, including DNA evidence, resulting in Arriaga charged criminally and arrested on a warrant.
Deputy District Attorney Sean Riordan of the Sexual Assault Unit is prosecuting this case.
Editor’s Note – we had to edit some of the words in this post to satisfy Google News editors.
Related
