Cops: Man Duped Caregivers Into Diaper Changes

9/14 UPDATE: While under investigation by police, Menchaca resigned August 31 from his job as a classroom aide at a public school in Chandler. Menchaca, who was employed at Bogle Junior High for the last two years, only worked with students while being supervised by certified staff, according to a letter the school’s principal sent to parents.

SEPTEMBER 13--An Arizona man feigning to suffer from Down syndrome tricked a series of female caregivers into bathing him and changing his diaper, according to investigators who have filed felony sex abuse and fraud charges against the creepy scamster.

As alleged in court documents, the scheme by Paul Menchaca, 31, began in May when he advertised on CareLinx, a “nationwide professional caregiver marketplace” that connects clients with home care workers.

In response to the ad, a caregiver corresponded solely via text with a woman named “Amy,” who claimed to be Menchaca’s mother. “Amy” told the caregiver that her son had Down syndrome and “required diaper changes and assistance with bathing,” according to a court filing

Police allege that “Amy,” who arranged for payments and provided care instructions, was actually Menchaca himself.

The first caregiver told police that she bathed Menchaca and changed his diaper on about 30 occasions. The woman told police that Menchaca occasionally complained “aggressively” that his genitals “were not cleaned enough,” which prompted her to wipe them “more thoroughly.” The caregiver added that Menchaca "had an erection every time his diaper was changed and when he was bathed."

The other two caregivers told cops that they were hired by “Amy” to bathe and diaper her son (who, they reported, was aroused each time his diaper was changed).

None of the victims ever met “Amy,” and each woman received their payments in cash from Menchaca.  

A probable cause affidavit filed in Superior Court noted that “Amy” asked the caregivers to “punish” her son “when he soiled his diaper by putting him in timeout and taking away his privileges.”

Menchaca’s ruse was recently exposed by one of the caregivers, who had grown suspicious of her client (whom she cared for at what police termed “neutral locations,” not Menchaca’s residence). The caregiver followed Menchaca home one day and encountered his parents, who said their son “did not have Down syndrome and did not require diaper changes.”

Seen above, Menchaca “admitted to lying to them about his mental condition” when he was subsequently confronted by the three victims.

During a search of Menchaca’s home in Gilbert, a Phoenix suburb, police recovered his “cell phone and diapers amongst other electronic devices.”

Menchaca was named Tuesday in a four-count felony complaint. He was freed from custody after posting $15,000 bond and has been ordered to have no contact with the three caregivers. (4 pages)