Man Pleads Guilty, Gets 25 Years In Day Care Sex Abuse Case

FREDERICK, Md. (AP) -- A Walkersville man is going to prison for molesting three girls in a home that housed a state-licensed day care business.

Twenty-eight-year-old Joseph Garza pleaded guilty Monday in Frederick to three sex offenses and possession of child pornography and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Prosecutors dropped 16 other charges in return for his guilty plea.

Garza was the boyfriend of the day care provider's daughter and lived in the home. Two of the victims also lived there. The third was assaulted during a sleepover.

The girls were 6, 8 and 13 when the molestation began.

The day care provider voluntarily surrendered her license in September.

Garza must serve five years of supervised probation after his release and register as a sex offender.

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