Ontario day-care owner accused of sexually assaulting children, faces more than 30 charges

ONTARIO, Calif. (KABC) -- An Ontario day-care owner is facing more than 30 charges after being accused of sexually assaulting children he cared for.

Virgil Delgado, 52, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Thursday and is due back in court next week.

Delgado has been charged with a bevy of crimes including sex crimes with aggravating circumstances and lewd or lascivious acts with a child. Police say their ages span from 5 years old to 15 years old.

"These victims... because they were under foster care, they started at 5 and were within his care for all that time, until they were actually released from his care," said Ontario police Officer Joshua Luster.

Ontario police broke the case when a teenage girl came forward and tipped investigators in March.

"At that point, is when we did actually find that Mr. Delgado did have additional victims that were sexually assaulted within our surrounding cities," Luster said.

Investigators say Delgado has been running the day-care center for 19 years, and as more information about the allegations reaches the public, the number of potential victims continues to grow.

"We do anticipate that more victims are going to come forward," Luster told Eyewitness News. "As of yesterday, we actually got a phone call after we released his press release."

Police are asking parents of other potential victims to contact them at the Ontario Police Department at (909) 986-6711.