Merced man pleads no contest to molesting girls in mother’s daycare

A 26-year-old Merced man will face 10 years in prison after taking a plea deal on a slew of child sex crimes, according to attorneys and court documents.

Mario Abarca-Basabe on Jan. 9 pleaded no contest to three felony child molestation charges.

The crimes occurred between Sept. 6, 2010 and Nov. 27, 2017, on three underage girls who were being babysat by Abarca-Basabe’s mother, according to investigation reports.

“He ruined my childhood,” one of the victims told police, noting that the abuse led her to feel depressed and to cut herself.

Merced detectives were first alerted to Abarca-Basabe on May 23, 2017, when police learned from a parent that the children were being molested by him, while they were in the care of Abarca-Basabe’s mother, reports state.

Two of the daughters, both under 10 years old when the abuse occurred, reported Abarca-Basabe touching their private areas with his hand, according to the reports.

An unrelated victim, who was reportedly about 5 years old at the time, also told detectives she was being babysat when Abarca-Basabe repeatedly sexually assaulted her.

Abarca-Basabe watched pornographic videos with the victims and other girls that were in the daycare, reports state.

The Merced County District Attorney’s Office charged Abarca-Basabe with seven felony counts of child sex crimes, according to court records. He was facing life in prison.

But he accepted a plea deal of 10 years in prison by pleading no contest to three of those charges, said Angelica Lozano, his Merced-based attorney. The other four charges were dismissed.

Abarca-Basabe was convicted on two counts of special allegation sex crimes with aggravated circumstances, and another charge of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 years old, according to Merced County Superior Court records.

The Merced County District Attorney’s Office didn’t return requests for comment.