Canyon County investigators are asking parents who believe their children had contact with Joshua Curtis Ritchie to call them.

The sheriff’s office says the Nampa man admitted to sexually touching children between the ages of 5 and 12, including some from his own family.

The 23-year-old was arrested Tuesday night and charged with one count of felony lewd conduct with a minor. The maximum penalty for the charge is life in prison.

The criminal complaint accuses Ritchie of lewd conduct with a 5-year-old on or between Feb. 1 and Aug. 12.

Prosecutors said the cases involving other possible victims are being investigated.

Ritchie was arraigned Wednesday afternoon and was being held on a $2.5 million bond at the Canyon County Jail, Prosecutor Bryan Taylor said.

Chief Criminal Deputy Kieran Donahue said the case is a reminder that “sexual abuse of children is a very real problem that needs to be addressed in all of our communities.”

Ritchie worked at Cornerstone Child Care at 7694 Birch Lane in Nampa. He also worked at the Idaho Arts Charter School and was recently hired to do lunchroom work for the Nampa School District, according to officials and court documents. Officials had no information on how long Ritchie worked at the day-care center or in what capacity he worked at the school.

The manager at Cornerstone declined to comment Wednesday, other than to say that the center is cooperating with police.

The investigation of Ritchie was initiated last week after a parent notified deputies that her 5-year-old son had reported that Ritchie had him touch his penis on several occasions. The boy told investigators that the inappropriate touching occurred when he was sitting with Ritchie on the couch in the day-care office and while they played “Angry Birds” or hide-and-seek, police said.

A detective called Ritchie and posed as the father of the boy, according to a court document. Ritchie admitted to the detective that the boy had touched his penis one time. When asked whether he was experimenting, Ritchie responded, “Uh huh,” the document said.

In an interview at the sheriff’s office Tuesday, Ritchie admitted that he had the boy touch him in a sexual manner on three occasions beginning in June, according to the document. On two of those occasions, other children were present in the room, Ritchie told investigators.

The sheriff’s office said that Ritchie consented to a search of his home on 20th Avenue North in Nampa and that he had two media devices that contained child pornography.

Ritchie has no prior criminal record. A preliminary hearing is set for 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 5.

Katy Moeller: 377-6413