Therapist Accused of Molesting 14-Year-Old Boy with Autism During Therapy Session in Teen’s Bedroom

A behavioral therapist has been accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy with autism during an in-home therapy session in California.

Salvador Armando Arriaga, 32, has been charged with one felony count of committing a lewd act on a child under 14 “as well as an allegation that he went into the child’s home with the intent to molest him” in September, according to an Orange County District Attorney’s Office press release shared on May 28.

According to the DA’s office, Arriaga was employed as a therapist for Behavioral Health Works, a company based in Anaheim that provides therapy and other behavioral services to children with developmental disabilities, per KTLA.

Behavioral Health Works did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Sunday, June 1.

The DA’s Office stated that Arriaga had conducted multiple sessions with the teen, and on Sept. 18, he conducted one with the boy in his bedroom while the boy’s father was in the living room caring for another child.

Prosecutors claimed the boy’s father noticed that his son and the therapist had gone quiet from the other room, and the father entered the bedroom to see what was going on.

He did not immediately see his son and Arriaga in the room, so he opened the door to a walk-in closet and allegedly found the 14-year-old with his pants pulled down as Arriaga was “on his knees with his head near his son’s lap.”

“After being confronted by the boy’s father, Arriaga is accused of trying to escape through a bedroom window before running out the door,” the DA’s Office said. “The boy’s father called Garden Grove police.”

While police officers were at the scene, Arriaga came back to the house wearing a different shirt. He was detained at the time for suspicion of lewd acts on a child, prosecutors said.

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Arriaga’s bail has been set at $1 million, and he faces up to 25 years in prison if found guilty.

The Orange County DA’s office is urging anyone with information about Arriaga “or any other potential victims” to reach out to Garden Grove Police Detective Sindy Orozco at 714-741-5872 or [email protected].

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.