San Diego police arrested a 35-year-old man accused of sexually abusing children at a licensed in-home daycare in Rancho Peñasquitos after a tip flagged suspected child sexual abuse material.

Abhishek Sareen, who lived at Lotus Learners Montessori School in the 14100 block of Korrey Drive, pleaded not guilty Thursday, Oct. 22, to 19 felony charges and is being held without bail, according to CBS 8. The charges include 11 counts of alleged lewd acts with a child under 14 and four counts of alleged sexual offenses against a child 10 or younger. He also faces three counts of alleged use of a minor to produce sexual material and one count of alleged possession of child sexual abuse material.

Sareen was initially booked Monday, Oct. 19, on 12 felony charges, according to a San Diego Police Department news release. Prosecutors filed the expanded 19-count complaint at arraignment.

The San Diego Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force received CyberTips on Monday, Oct. 19, containing suspected child sexual abuse material, the SDPD release stated. Deputy District Attorney Seralyn Fields said the tip came from Google, which is required by law to report suspected exploitation to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, CBS 8 reported. That organization passed the information to San Diego police.

ICAC detectives worked through the night and determined Sareen had regular access to children at the daycare, which serves children ages 2 to 5. Officers served search warrants and arrested Sareen that evening. No children were present at the time, police said.

Prosecutors allege Sareen abused at least three young girls at the school, according to NBC 7 San Diego. Two identified victims are ages 4 and 6. The third has not been identified. A judge issued a criminal protective order for all three, CBS 8 reported.

The criminal complaint alleges offenses between July 2024 and March 2026, according to CBS 8.

Daycare ties and licensing questions

Sareen's defense attorney, Kerry Armstrong, told CBS 8 that Sareen lived at the home but was not a daycare worker. Armstrong confirmed Sareen's mother, Pratibha Goyal, held the daycare license since 2011, according to state licensing records cited by CBS 8.

"This came obviously very fast," Armstrong told NBC 7 San Diego. "You don't see too many investigations that start on one day and all of a sudden you're in court three days later."

Armstrong said the Rancho Peñasquitos daycare voluntarily closed for 30 days. The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has not confirmed that closure. A CDSS spokesperson told CBS 8 the department is investigating and cannot comment on the case.

State law requires criminal background checks for adults living in a licensed family child care home, CBS 8 reported. CDSS did not say whether Sareen was cleared to live in the home or how he had access to children.

The SDPD release stated the Community Care Licensing Division was notified and holds authority to determine whether the center should remain open.

NBC 7 reported that Lotus Learners operates three locations: the Rancho Peñasquitos site, one in Sabre Springs and a third in Carmel Mountain Ranch licensed to Sareen's brother. NBC 7 reported that state social services investigators were seen near the home Friday, Oct. 23, and said they were conducting their own investigation into all three facilities. No allegations have been made involving the other two locations.

A January 2026 state inspection of the Rancho Peñasquitos daycare resulted in a citation because a helper did not have immunization records on file, according to CBS 8. A separate July 2025 inspection of the Carmel Mountain Ranch location found a dozen citations, including one for two adult residents who were not fingerprint-cleared or background-checked, NBC 7 reported.

Sareen has not been convicted of any crime. He is scheduled to return to court Jan. 4, 2027.

Anyone with information is asked to call the ICAC Task Force at (858) 495-4779 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.