Gilroy Man Arrested May Have Molested Relatives

UPDATE SATURDAY 9:45AM-

A 46-year-old man arrested Thursday in Gilroy is a suspect in the sexual assaults of four young relatives within the past 15 years, police said Friday.

Antonio Garcia, a Gilroy resident, was arrested on suspicion of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor and aggravated sexual assault of a child, police said.

The victims were boys in Garcia's extended family, according to police. The alleged crimes took place with two of the victims 15 years ago and the other two relatives in the past two years, police said.

The investigation into Garcia began when police learned he allegedly molested a 5-year-old boy, according to authorities.

Detectives looked into the case, presented it to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office and obtained a warrant for Garcia's arrest, police said.

The suspect was arrested Thursday without incident and booked into Santa Clara County Jail on a warrant, police said. The other three victims came forward after hearing about the investigation, according to police.

Detectives suspect Garcia became involved with the boys as a coach for activities including baseball pitching and bowling, police said.

Detectives have learned that the 46-year-old helped coach the Gilroy Little League team and volunteered with Boy Scouts of America in Gilroy, according to police.

He is being held without bail and is scheduled for arraignment this afternoon at the South County Courthouse in Morgan Hill, according to jail records.

Investigators suspect there may be more victims and are asking member's of the public with information on the case to call Detective Jenkins at (408) 846-0350.

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(Original story)

GILROY - A Gilroy man was arrested Thursday afternoon on suspicion of child molestation, according to police.

Antonio Garcia, 46, was taken into custody around 2 p.m. today after investigators obtained an arrest warrant from the district attorney's office.

Garcia was booked into the Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of lewd and lascivious acts with a child and aggravated sexual assault of a child, police said.

While investigating the initial allegations that Garcia molested a 5-year-old child, police learned of additional victims.

They say the allegations against Garcia go back 15 years and there may be more victims that have not yet come forward.

Anyone with additional information is asked to call the Gilroy Police Department at (408) 846-0350.

-Bay City News, image via Gilroy PD