PHOENIX — A professional caretaker for disabled children in Phoenix has been arrested, accused of sexually abusing two girls he met online.
According to court paperwork, Erick Daniel Rivera, 22, started talking to two juvenile girls on social media apps and agreed to meet them at a Valley home.
Rivera allegedly snuck into the home to meet two girls who were 13 and 12 years old. Rivera allegedly engaged in inappropriate sexual activity with both girls.
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The 12-year-old girl reported the sexual assault to a counselor, who then informed her parents. The parents contacted police after finding evidence of the conversations on the child's phone.
Police interviewed the girls separately and both confirmed that inappropriate sexual activity occurred with Rivera at the home while the parents were sleeping. Physical evidence gathered also supported the allegations. Both told police that Rivera knew their ages and that he originally told them he was 15.
Rivera was interviewed by police and said he watched television with the girls at the home but did not confirm any sexual activity occurred, according to court documents.
Rivera was employed at the time as a "paraprofessional caretaker for disabled kids."
He faces three charges of sexual conduct with a minor, one count of sexual abuse, and one count of aggravated assault on a minor.
