Therapist accused of molesting autistic boy after child’s father walks in on sick act

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An in-home behavioural therapist in California has been charged with molesting an autistic boy.

Salvador Armando Arriaga, 32, pleaded not guilty to molesting an autistic child at a home located about 55 kilometres southeast of Los Angeles, in Garden Grove,  according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.

The alleged incident took place during a Sept. 18, 2024 therapy session in the boy’s bedroom.

Arriaga, who was employed by Behaviorial Health Works in Anaheim, had provided therapy to the boy on  previous occasions while the boy’s father stayed in the living room with another child.

“The father became concerned when he no longer heard any conversation coming from the room and went to check on his son,” the DA’s office said in a news release.

The therapist and boy were not in the room but in a walk-in closet where the dad “found his son with his pants down and the boy’s therapist on his knees with his head near his son’s lap.”

Arriaga allegedly tried to escape through a bedroom window when the dad confronted him, before running out the door.

The boy’s father immediately called police.

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Prosecutors allege that Arriaga changed his shirt and returned to the home while officers were still there.

Investigators gathered evidence, including DNA, leading to Arriaga being formally charged with one felony count of committing a lewd act on a child under 14, along with an enhancement alleging he entered the child’s home with the intent to commit the crime, KTLA reported.

He is currently being held on $1 million bail and faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted.

The investigation is ongoing.