Sylmar man allegedly molested two girls at mom’s day care
Los Angeles police detectives say a 47-year-old man molested at least two girls and possibly many more at his mother’s Sylmar babysitting service, where he hid a camera to allegedly create child pornography.
Israel Sanchez was charged Thursday with molesting a child under 14 after he was interviewed by LAPD sex crimes detectives following a federal search warrant on his home in connection with suspected child pornography.
LAPD Lt. Paul Vernon said Sanchez shares an apartment at 13987 Foothill Blvd. with his mother, who provides babysitting services to local residents. “He has lived with his mother since 1995,” Vernon said.
Vernon said special federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations based in Northridge served a search warrant on the apartment earlier this week. They seized computers and cameras related to suspected child pornography on the Internet, which is a federal crime.
During the search, federal agents discovered “evidence of at least two children being molested directly by Sanchez.”
“We believe these children were clients of Sanchez’s mother, who babysat for families in the neighborhood,” Vernon said.
“When we examined the home, we discovered Sanchez’s room was rigged with cameras to record the molestation for distribution over the Internet,” Vernon said.
Sanchez was interviewed by investigators, who said they suspected there are other victims.
Vernon said both victims’ families are cooperating with investigators, but neither family had been aware their daughters had been touched until contacted by police.
Prosecutors on Thursday filed a case involving an 18-month-old child. Vernon said the other victim was 10 years old, but that case has yet to be filed.
Computers and cameras belonging to Sanchez were being examined by federal authorities.
“We’ll use their findings to identify victims, but in the meantime, if a family has used the babysitting services at the apartment or allowed their child contact with Sanchez, we’d like them to contact us,” he said.
While Sanchez’s bail was set at $100,000 as a resident alien, Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed a hold on him that keeps him in jail.
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