Penn Valley man allegedly showed child, 4, pornographic video, molested them
PENN VALLEY - A Nevada County man has been arrested on suspicion of showing a pornographic video to a child and then molesting them.
According to the Nevada County Sheriff's Office, on Tuesday, authorities arrested Michael McElreath, a 43-year-old man from Penn Valley, for allegedly engaging in Lewd or Lascivious Acts with a Person under 14 years old and distributing harmful material to a minor.
The arrest came after an investigation into the reported molestation of a juvenile at a licensed daycare facility located in the 18000 block of Lake Forest Drive in Penn Valley.
On Monday evening, April 12, 2023, someone reported possible sexual abuse of a minor at an in-home daycare facility to authorities The local sheriff's deputies responded and began to investigate. The following morning, detectives from the Nevada County Sheriff's Office Major Crimes Unit took over the case and began an intensive investigation. They identified McElreath as the suspect who allegedly showed the victim, who was only four years old, a pornographic video and then touched the victim "in a lewd or lascivious manner."
With the assistance of investigators from the Nevada County District Attorney's Office, Nevada County Sheriff's Office detectives executed a search warrant at the in-home daycare facility. McElreath was then arrested and booked into the Wayne Brown Correctional Facility with a bail of $500,000.
As the incident involved a licensed in-home daycare facility, the authorities are continuing to work in partnership with the California Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing Division throughout this investigation. Anyone with additional information is urged to contact the Nevada County Sheriff's Office Major Crimes Unit at 530-265-1471.