An Albemarle County grand jury has added 32 new felony charges against a Crozet, Virginia, babysitter already facing a sweeping set of child sexual abuse allegations, sharply expanding a case that has been building for months. The indictments returned on April 13, 2026, bring the total number of felony counts against 24-year-old Maxwell Harrison Mandell to 82, according to Albemarle police and court records. Police said the investigation remains active and again urged anyone who may have had contact with Mandell in a professional capacity to come forward, noting that potential victims may be located outside Albemarle County, including in the Blacksburg area where he previously lived while a student at Virginia Tech.
The case against Mandell emerged late last year.
A 5-year-old girl reported that he had touched her inappropriately while she was trying to sleep, an allegation that led to Mandell’s arrest and an array of charges.
In the weeks that followed, prosecutors described a growing body of digital evidence and additional alleged victims, and in February, a grand jury returned 50 felony indictments that moved the case into Albemarle Circuit Court.
The latest indictments build on that earlier action, further extending the timeline of alleged offenses and increasing the number of counts related to both hands-on allegations and the creation and possession of illicit images.
Mandell’s business website has been taken offline.
Since his last court appearance, Mandell’s business website — which previously advertised child care, music instruction, photography, and videography services — has been taken offline.
“Caring for children is more than a career — it’s my purpose,” Mandell originally posted to the site, claiming 511 completed child care bookings and 36 families served.
Before it disappeared, the site included testimonials from parents describing positive experiences with Mandell’s services, underscoring the breadth of his contact with local families.
“We love him like part of the family and my kids always look forward to seeing him,” went one testimonial. “Strongly recommend!”
“He has kept up to date with us even a couple years later,” enthused another parent, “and sends the kids birthday cards.”
A prosecutor said at a hearing that Mandell was so meticulous in organizing illicit recordings that he would include the names of his victims and the dates of their victimization.
That activity too came to light because of the 5-year-old Crozet girl.
According to investigators, the child told her mother that Mandell entered her bedroom on the night of December 3, 2025, while she was trying to sleep. She further alleged, according to a police report, that Mandell pulled down her blanket, unzipped her onesie, and put a hand on her genitals while holding a lighted phone in the other hand. A prosecutor later told a judge that investigators obtained incriminating video of that incident.
The Daily Progress‘ attempts to reach Mandell’s attorney, André Hakes, Thursday was not successful. No trial date has been announced, and the case continues to move through Albemarle Circuit Court as prosecutors pursue what has become one of the region’s most expansive child sexual abuse prosecutions in recent memory.
-by Hawes Spencer
© 2026 The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, Va. Visit www.dailyprogress.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
