A 79-year-old Central Coast man has been arrested on charges that he molested children at a child care facility.
In 2019, Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s investigators received reports that sexual abuse had occurred at an in-home child care facility on the 800 block of Emerald Way in Santa Maria.
Investigators say they identified several victims who were molested at the child care center between 1995 and 2012. It led to this month’s arrest of Ernest James Lattimer of Santa Maria on 17 felony abuse charges involving victims under the age of ten.
They say Lattimer’s spouse ran the day care, but wasn’t aware of what was occurring. Detectives are looking for more potential victims. The 79-year-old Santa Maria man is being held at the Northern Branch Jail in lieu of a million dollars bail.
