Man pleads guilty to molesting girls at La Quinta daycare

A man accused of molesting three young girls at a daycare center run by his wife out of their La Quinta home pleaded guilty to three of four charges against him.

John Calvin Arledge, 61, is charged with two felony counts of aggravated sexual assault on a minor and one felony count each of lewd acts on a child under 14 with force and lewd acts on a child under 14. He also faces a sentence-enhancing allegation of multiple victims.  

The charges stem from the now-shuttered ABC Day Care, run by Monica Arledge and operated out of their home in the 45000 block of Carrie Lane between 2002 and 2006, when two of the children were between 3 and 6 years old, according to the criminal complaint.

Arledge appeared at the Larson Justice Center on Tuesday, where he pleaded guilty to all counts except for the one charge of lewd acts on a child under 14 with force.

According to spokesman John Hall of the Riverside County District Attorney's Office, a disposition hearing will be held on the remaining charge when he is sentenced on April 15.

He faces 33 years to life in state prison and remains held at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Department launched an investigation upon receiving a report of a sexual assault that allegedly occurred in 2006, the same year the daycare center stopped operating, sheriff's Sgt. Jessica Vanderhoof said.

The investigation turned up two additional victims, Vanderhoof said.  

Prosecutors say the three children did not know each other, yet independently described similar incidents of molestation involving Arledge.   

On April 20, 2017, deputies served a search warrant at the Carrie Lane address and placed Arledge under arrest.