Man Faces Judge In Palm Springs Daycare Molestation Case

A man who ran a daycare business with his wife in Palm Springs is scheduled to face a preliminary hearing today on charges that he sexually abused a girl under 14 years old.

Jose Mercado, 38, of Palm Springs, is accused of three felony counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and one felony count of lewd acts with a child under 14. The defendant is accused of sexually assaulting the girl between December 2003 and December 2004.

The man and his wife ran a daycare center in their unit at the Tahquitz Court Apartments at 2890 Tahquitz Canyon Way, Palm Springs police Officer Rhonda Long said when Mercado was arrested in October 2010.

Police have not said if the child was in Mercado’s care when the alleged abuse took place.

Mercado is being held in custody in lieu of $1 million bail, according to court records.