A behavioral therapist has been charged with sexually assaulting an autistic boy during an in-home therapy session in Garden Grove last year, and authorities are urging anyone with additional information or possible victims to come forward.
Salvador Armando Arriaga, 32, was arrested and charged with one felony count of committing a lewd act on a child under 14, along with an enhancement alleging he entered the child’s home with the intent to commit the crime.
If convicted, he faces up to 25 years to life in prison, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said.
At the time of the alleged abuse, Arriaga was working for Behavioral Health Works, an Anaheim-based company that provides behavioral therapy services to children with autism and other developmental disabilities.
On Sept. 18, 2024, he was conducting a session in the boy’s home, a client whose home he’d visited previously.
Prosecutors allege the session took place in the child’s bedroom while the boy’s father remained in the living room caring for another child.
When the father noticed the room had gone quiet, he entered and found no one in sight. After opening the closet door, he allegedly found his son with his pants down and Arriaga kneeling “with his head near his son’s lap.”
The father confronted Arriaga, who tried to flee the scene through a window before running out the door.
The victim’s father called the Garden Grove Police Department who arrived on scene shortly after. While officers were at the home, Arriaga returned and was wearing another shirt.
He was detained on suspicion of lewd acts on a child, officials said.
Over the following months, investigators continued gathering evidence, including DNA, which led to Arriaga being formally charged and arrested on a warrant.
He remains in custody with bail set at $1 million.
The investigation remains ongoing and anyone with information about Arriaga or other potential victims is urged to contact Garden Grove Police Detective Sindy Orozco by email, or by calling 714-741-5872.