Daycare Operator Accused of Molesting Girls Pleads Not Guilty

RIVERSIDE (CNS) – The operator of a Riverside child daycare facility accused of sexually assaulting two girls pleaded not guilty Tuesday to multiple counts of lewd acts on a child and other offenses.

Ladislao Diaz Cuevas, 51, was arrested last month following a Riverside Police Department investigation.

Along with five counts of lewd acts on a child under 14 years old, Cuevas is charged with two counts of sexual penetration with a foreign object and a sentence-enhancing allegation of targeting more than one victim in a sex crime.

The defendant was arraigned before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Sean Crandell, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for April 7 at the Riverside Hall of Justice and ordered that Cuevas remain held in lieu of $1 million bail at the nearby Robert Presley Jail

According to Officer Ryan Railsback, detectives from the police department’s Sexual Assault-Child Abuse Unit received information in January indicating that Cuevas allegedly had inappropriate contact with a girl about three years ago.

During the ensuing investigation, "a second victim came forward to report similar allegations that occurred in December 2022," Railsback said.

The two children were identified only as Jane Does.

Cuevas operated Little Steps Family Daycare in the 11000 block of Oriole Drive, within the La Sierra Hills area, the police spokesman said.

The specific circumstances behind the alleged assaults on the children were not disclosed.

Cuevas has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.

Copyright 2023, City News Service, Inc.