Details emerge of alleged sexual assault at Petaluma unlicensed daycare

Pedro Erasmo Diaz Ibanez faces charges of engaging in sexual intercourse with a child under 10 years old, and committing lewd or lascivious acts on a child under 14.|

SANTA ROSA - Graphic descriptions of alleged sexual encounters with children came to light at a preliminary hearing last Wednesday in a case involving a Petaluma man accused of performing sex acts on two young girls at an unlicensed daycare business.

At the end, Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Bradford DeMeo ruled there was enough evidence to place Pedro Erasmo Diaz Ibanez, 45, on trial. Ibanez has been in custody since his November arrest on three counts of engaging in sexual intercourse with a child under 10 years old, and five counts of committing lewd or lascivious acts on a child under 14. An arraignment is scheduled for April 29.

Petaluma Police Detective Walt Spiller, the only witness called Wednesday, testified for more than two hours about forensic interviews with the two victims, identified as Jane Does No. 1 and No. 2, as well as the information provided by their parents and a school counselor of the primary victim.

Ibanez is accused of sexually assaulting two girls who attended an unlicensed daycare service operated by his wife, Yemenia Ibanez, in their home at the Washington Creek Apartments for at least 10 years, according to police. His attorney, Kristine Burk, has contended that it was an informal arrangement to babysit for friends and neighbors.

According to Deputy District Attorney Andrew Lukas, six of the charges are tied to three incidents involving Jane Doe 1, who is now 13, when she was approximately 3 to 4 years old, although there were inconsistencies from both victims regarding at what age and when the assaults allegedly occurred.

During a March 2018 forensic interview at the Redwood Children’s Center in Santa Rosa, Jane Doe 1 described a method employed by Pedro Ibanez when he came home from work during his lunch hour. While his wife was in the kitchen cooking, Ibanez would allegedly take Jane Doe 1 into the bedroom, turn on a pornographic film, remove her clothing and assault her, Spiller said.

After the first incident, which lasted about three minutes, the encounters became longer and eventually included intercourse, according to Spiller’s testimony.

Over the approximately six months to one year Jane Doe 1 was under Yemenia Ibanez’s care, the encounters sometimes occurred multiple times in a single day, either in a bedroom or bathroom.

When asked why she never spoke up about the alleged assaults, Jane Doe 1 indicated that she was afraid, Spiller said, and her parents would be upset that she didn’t notify them after the first incident.

“Pedro told her something bad would happen if she spoke up,” Spiller said.

An interview with Jane Doe 2, who is now 11, apparently corroborated Jane Doe 1’s allegations. Jane Doe 2 gave a forensic interview at the RCC on Nov. 29, the day before Pedro Ibanez was arrested.

It did not appear the two girls knew each other, Spiller said.

When Jane Doe 2 was between 4 and 6 years old, she disclosed that she had been taken to the bathroom and had her clothes removed by Ibanez, who proceeded to molest her, according to Spiller. According to the parents of Jane Doe 2, she was under the Ibanez family’s care until she was 7 years old.

The testimony from Jane Doe 2 “was pretty vague,” and she couldn’t remember much “because she was small,” Spiller said. The victim indicated the encounters happened multiple times.

Police were unable to recover any documentation that could identify a timeline for when the girls were in the Ibanez family’s care, or any medical records that could have shown any unusual injuries.

Jane Doe 1 once told her mother about an “irritation” of her pubic area, but it was dismissed as a hygienic issue, and her mother told her to “shower and clean herself better,” Spiller said.

No blood or other signs of abuse were ever found.

Burk called out what she viewed as inconsistencies in the testimonies provided by Jane Doe 2 and her parents. During the forensic interview, Jane Doe 2 was asked explicitly if anything happened in the bathroom, and she said “no,” Spiller said.

“This is a case of two weak cases attempting to bolster one another,” Burk said.

(Contact News Editor Yousef Baig at yousef.baig@arguscourier.com or 776-8461, and on Twitter @YousefBaig.)

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