Phoenix child care worker arrested for sexual misconduct with two minors

PHOENIX – A professional caregiver for disabled children in Phoenix has been arrested and accused of sexually abusing two girls he met online.

According to court documents, 22-year-old Erick Daniel Rivera began talking to two teenage girls on social media apps and agreed to meet them at a Valley home.

Rivera allegedly sneaked into the house to meet two girls, ages 13 and 12. Rivera allegedly engaged in inappropriate sexual activity with both girls.

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 Rivera engaged in inappropriate sexual activity at home while their parents were asleep. The physical evidence collected also supported the allegations. Both told police that Rivera knew their age and that he had originally told them he was 15.

Rivera was interviewed by police and said he watched television with the girls in the house but did not confirm that sexual activity occurred, according to court documents.

At the time, Rivera was employed as a “paraprofessional for disabled children.”

He is charged with three counts of sexual conduct toward a minor, one count of sexual abuse and one count of aggravated assault on a minor.