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On the afternoon of April 13th, 2023, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office arrested 43-year-old Michael McElreath of Penn Valley for alleged lewd or lascivious acts with a person under 14 years old and distributing harmful material to a minor. The arrest was made following an investigation into the reported molestation of a juvenile at a licensed daycare facility in the 18000 block of Lake Forest Drive in Penn Valley.
The case came to the attention of the Nevada Sheriff’s Office Regional Dispatch Center on the evening of April 12th, 2023. The center received a call reporting the possible sexual abuse of a minor that allegedly occurred at an in-home daycare facility. Nevada County Sheriff’s Office patrol deputies responded immediately and began an initial investigation.
The following morning, detectives from the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit took over the case and began an intensive investigation. Michael McElreath was identified as the suspect and was alleged to have shown the four-year-old victim a pornographic video and touched the victim in a lewd or lascivious manner.
Nevada County Sheriff’s Office detectives, with assistance from Nevada County District Attorney’s Office investigators, served a search warrant at the in-home daycare facility in the 18000 block of Lake Forest Drive in Penn Valley, CA. Upon his arrest, McElreath was booked into the Wayne Brown Correctional Facility with a bail of $500,000.
The incident occurred at a licensed in-home daycare facility, and therefore, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office is working in partnership with the California Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing Division throughout this investigation.
Officials from the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office have urged anyone with any additional information about the incident to come forward and contact the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit at 530-265-1471.
