This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Lehi day-care owner has been charged with more than 20 felonies for aggravated sexual abuse of a child and lewdness involving a child.
Police say Alfredo Vargas, 43, has been sexually abusing girls, ages 2 to 7, since June 2011, according to charging documents filed Friday in 4th District Court.
Three girls told police that Vargas, who owns Little Bears Academy at 751 W. 700 South in Lehi, had touched their private parts multiple times and, in two of the cases, every day since they began attending the day care, court documents state.
They also saw his penis when he urinated in front of the girls on several occasions, according to the documents.
The allegations came to light after two sisters, ages 5 and 7, detailed to their mother a game Vargas played with them involving disrobing them and touching their private parts, court documents state. The girls said Vargas did this with all of the girls, including a "newborn baby," but none of the boys. The mother called police.
Vargas was arrested and placed in the Utah County Jail on a $50,000 cash bail.
Vargas was charged Friday with 16 counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, all first-degree felonies, and 10 class A misdemeanors of lewdness involving a child. He is scheduled for another hearing on Jan. 5.
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