ASSEMBLY AIDE DENIES MOLESTING 12-YEAR-OLD.Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer LANCASTER - Assembly aide and former Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley Board of Trade executive director Howard Brooks pleaded not guilty Monday to charges he molested mo·lest tr.v. mo·lest·ed, mo·lest·ing, mo·lests 1. To disturb, interfere with, or annoy. 2. To subject to unwanted or improper sexual activity. a 12-year-old boy who lived at his house last year. Brooks, 61, remained in custody on $195,000 bail and will appear Friday in court for a bail review hearing. ``We expect to take it all the way to trial if it doesn't get dismissed. After a thorough investigation we expect the case to get dismissed,'' said one of Brooks' attorneys, Marie Alex, who appeared in court for Brooks' arraignment A criminal proceeding at which the defendant is officially called before a court of competent jurisdiction, informed of the offense charged in the complaint, information, indictment, or other charging document, and asked to enter a plea of guilty, not guilty, or as otherwise permitted . Alex is an associate of attorney Milton Grimes Grimes is a surname, that is believed to be of a Scandinavian decent and may refer to
A preliminary hearing for Brooks is set for Jan. 4. Brooks, who is married and has grown children, surrendered Friday after a warrant had been issued for his arrest three days before. Brooks was placed on unpaid administrative leave from his job as an aide to Assemblyman Phil Wyman, R-Tehachapi. Wyman said Monday that he has requested that the Assembly Rules Committee, which is Brooks' employer, fire him. An investigation was started after prison authorities in Sacramento intercepted a letter sent by Brooks to an inmate, prosecutors said. The letter talked about sexual conduct with boys, including a 7-year-old boy who lives in Brooks' neighborhood, prosecutors said. No charges have been filed regarding the 7-year-old because of insufficient evidence insufficient evidence n. a finding (decision) by a trial judge or an appeals court that the prosecution in a criminal case or a plaintiff in a lawsuit has not proved the case because the attorney did not present enough convincing evidence. , prosecutors said. Further investigation led to the victim named in the criminal complaint, prosecutors said. The victim is not a relative but an Antelope Valley youngster who lived at Brooks' Quartz Hill home. Brooks is charged with felony continuous sexual abuse, lewd act upon a child, sexual assault, showing child pornography Child pornography is the visual representation of minors under the age of 18 engaged in sexual activity or the visual representation of minors engaging in lewd or erotic behavior designed to arouse the viewer's sexual interest. to a minor and misdemeanor possession of child pornography, prosecutors said. If convicted of all charges, Brooks faces up to 17 years in prison. Brooks is accused of committing the offenses between March and November 2000. The misdemeanor count refers to images of young boys that were found on Brooks' computer. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion