Arizona man fakes down syndrome, arrested for sexual abuse

An Arizona man is facing five counts of sexual abuse after he pretended to have Down syndrome and hired caretakers to take care of him.

Court documents show it started in May when a care worker responded to an ad on Carelinx.com. The care worker agreed to take care of 31-year-old Paul Anthony Menchaca. He posed as a woman online.

The ad said Menchaca had Down syndrome and required diaper changes and bathing. According to 12 News in Phoenix, one care taker provided care to Menchaca around 30 different times in Gilbert and Chandler.

“He would talk like a child. He would act like a child,” Allen said.

Allen said there were at least five different times when Menchaca aggressively claimed his genitals were not cleaned enough and the care worker had to clean them more thoroughly, according to 12 News.

In September, one of the care takers followed Menchaca to his home where his real parents were and found out he actually doesn’t have Down syndrome.

Upon further investigation, Menchaca was charged with five counts of sexual abuse and three counts of fraud.

He is being held on $15,000 bond.