It may have taken more than a decade, but a suspected daycare child molester has been jailed on felony charges, officials disclosed Wednesday.
It’s not yet clear what role the suspect had at the now-closed daycare center in the upscale desert city of La Quinta, east of Palm Springs. He’s being held in lieu of $2 million bail.
John Arledge, 56, is charged with three counts of lewd acts with a child under 14 and two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a minor for alleged incidents that occurred more than 10 years ago.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department launched an investigation upon receiving a report of a sexual assault that allegedly occurred at ABC Day Care in the 45000 block of Carrie Lane in 2006, the same year it stopped operating, said Sgt. Jessica Vanderhoof.
The investigation turned up two additional alleged victims of sexual abuse at the daycare, Vanderhoof said.
On April 20, deputies served a search warrant at the Carrie Lane address and placed Arledge under arrest, according to sheriff’s officials, who could not be immediately reached to answer questions on Arledge’s connection to the daycare, including whether he was the owner and/or operator.
Arledge, who’s being held at the Riverside County jail in Indio, pleaded not guilty to the charges last month and is due in court June 5 for a felony settlement conference.
Anyone with information regarding the case was asked to contact Investigator Melissa Neiburger at the Thermal sheriff’s station at (760) 863- 8990.
— Staff and wire reports