The 35-year-old son of a woman who runs a daycare out of her Rancho Peñasquitos home pleaded not guilty to child sexual abuse charges on Thursday, crimes that police say occurred in the home where he lived and victimized at least three children.
Authorities said police were tipped off to the case after Google flagged suspicious images in its system and notified law enforcement. Investigators with the San Diego Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force then traced the materials to Abhishek Sareen. They discovered hundreds of images in his possession, said Deputy District Attorney Seralyn Fields.
Police said they arrested Sareen at his Korrey Drive home, which is known as the Lotus Learners Montessori School, on Tuesday night. No children were present at the time of his arrest.
On Thursday, Sareen appeared before San Diego Superior Court Judge Laura Duffy in a downtown courtroom. He pleaded not guilty to 19 counts of child sex abuse charges, including suspicion of sexual acts involving a child 10 or younger, lewd acts with a child under 14 and possession of child sexual abuse material.
He is being held without bail.
Duffy ordered Sareen to stay more than 100 yards away from the three girls he allegedly victimized. The judge said one of the victims is 6 and another is 4. Investigators are still working to identify the third child, San Diego police said.
The charges allege abuse as early as 2024 and as recently as March 2026, according to the complaint.
Police said Sareen had regular access to an unknown number of children at the Lotus Learners school, which enrolls children ages 2 to 5. A police spokesperson said the alleged abuse happened at the daycare.
“It is unknown if there are additional victims; however, investigators are continuing to review all evidence,” San Diego police said in a statement. “Investigators are working to contact all of the families of the children enrolled at the center.”
Defense attorney Kerry Armstrong said his client was not an employee of the daycare. He said Sareen’s mother voluntarily shut down her business for at least 30 days.
“She’s more traumatized than you can imagine … for her this came out of left field,” Armstrong said of Sareen’s mother, identified in state licensing documents as Pratibha Goyal.
A website for Lotus Learners Montessori says it has three independently licensed locations in North County, calling them “three home-based classrooms sharing one curriculum, one philosophy, and the same commitment to small class sizes and big hearts.”
The website appeared to be taken down hours after the arrest was publicized.
According to the website, the Rancho Peñasquitos location opened in 2011. One in Sabre Springs opened in 2012, and a Carmel Mountain Ranch location opened in 2017.
According to state records, the Korrey Drive location is licensed under the name Pratibha Goyal Family Child Care. Phone calls to the business were not answered Thursday.
When an inspector made an unannounced visit on Jan. 21, the facility had 12 children enrolled with a capacity of 14, according to the Department of Social Services. The only deficiency noted was a helper at the facility who did not have a measles or pertussis vaccine on file.
San Diego police said they notified the state’s Community Care Licensing Division of Sareen’s arrest and about the investigation. State licensing holds the authority to determine if the center should remain open, police said.
Police say that anyone with information about the case should call the task force at 858-495-4779 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 888-580-8477.
After the hearing, Fields, the prosecutor, told reporters that the case is a reminder that “there is no picture for what a child molester may look like.”
“It’s important to talk to your kids about appropriate touching, and it’s up to us as a community to work together to ensure that these children are protected,” Fields said.