Official: Child porn suspect raised no red flags when home was certified as home day care

ABC-7 is learning more about the Las Cruces man arrested on child pornography and sexual assault charges Monday.

According to court documents, an IP address linked to child porn files brought investigators to the home Christopher T. Manuel was living at on the 1500 block of Mariposa Avenue.

Documents state Manuel was living with his Fiancee at the home, which was an in home day care for children between the ages of six weeks old and five years old.

Documents state Manuel later admitted to police to previously sexually assaulting a 4-year-old boy and 3-year-old girl he knew.

It is unknown where the alleged sexual assaults occurred.

Henry Varela, spokesman for New Mexico’s Children Youth and Family Department, tells ABC-7 they learned the daycare had been operating without a license in 2016.

He said the daycare then got proper certification, and everyone living at the home, including Manuel, underwent a background check.

“There were no red flags that came up that would’ve prevented them from being certified,” Varela said.

Varela said when a home gets certified as a day care, CYFD initially does a state and federal background check. He said everyone living at the home gets finger printed. They also do an initial check for any prior abuse or neglect.

Varela said they then do a full search of the sex offender registry. He said there’s also an automated system that does daily updates on the people living at the home.

“There’s not always a record available that will let us know what could come up in the future,” Varela said.

On Tuesday, neighbors who live near the home say they’re shocked to learn what happened.

“It’s very disturbing,” Hannah Robinson, a mother of 3 who lives across the street said. “Makes me feel very unsafe.”