Sex Charges Multiply Against Man In Home Daycare Case
HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) -- A man who lived in a Walkersville home that housed a state-licensed day care business is charged with molesting three children there, although none were enrolled in the child care program at the time, according to public records obtained by The Associated Press.
The investigation is complete and prosecutors do not expect any charges involving additional victims, Frederick County State's Attorney Charlie Smith said Friday.
Defendant Joseph J. Garza, 28, was the boyfriend of the day care provider's daughter, according to the documents. He had lived in the home full time for the past year, and intermittently for several years before that, investigators were told.
Two of the alleged victims also lived in the home. The third was a visitor who later enrolled in the day care program, according to a Maryland Department of Education investigative report.
The day care provider voluntarily surrendered her license in September, according to an education department document.
Garza was arrested in August by state police investigating online child pornography distribution. He's being held in the Frederick County jail with bail set at $500,000. No defense attorney is listed in court records.
Garza was charged in August with abusing the two resident children in July. He told investigators he had had sexual contact with those children, according to court records.
He was indicted on charges involving the third child last week, after a parent called investigators to say her child had told her that Garza had touched her during a sleepover in May.
The home had been licensed to provide child care for up to eight children since 2010.
The Associated Press is not naming the day care provider to protect the identities of the alleged victims.
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