CARNEY'S BANKRUPTCY DELAYS GIRL'S MOLESTATION LAWSUIT.Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer PALMDALE - Proceedings in the lawsuit against retired sheriff's Sgt. Kevin Carney in which a teen-age girl claims 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. her have been temporarily halted because he has filed for bankruptcy, his attorney said Tuesday. Carney, a former Palmdale councilman who was acquitted in criminal court two years ago of molestation molestation n. the crime of sexual acts with children up to the age of 18, including touching of private parts, exposure of genitalia, taking of pornographic pictures, rape, inducement of sexual acts with the molester or with other children, and variations of these charges, filed for bankruptcy last December. ``He was overburdened o·ver·bur·den tr.v. o·ver·bur·dened, o·ver·bur·den·ing, o·ver·bur·dens 1. To burden with too much weight; overload. 2. To subject to an excessive burden or strain; overtax. n. 1. by the debts. When these (criminal) charges were filed against him he had to incur tremendous indebtedness to get out of jail. He then had to defend himself. The county put him on nonpaid leave. He was basically without income for a period of time and incurred tremendous debt,'' said Carney's attorney David Pillemer. ``He's never been able to get out from underneath it.'' Attorneys for the girl and her mother have filed a motion to set aside the stay in the proceedings, Pillemer said. ``They can't prosecute as to Mr. Carney at the moment. The filing of bankruptcy automatically stays civil litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. ,'' Pillemer said. In other developments, Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Superior Court Judge Rodney Nelson on Monday denied a motion by attorneys representing Los Angeles County and the Sheriff's Department to dismiss them as defendants from the girl's lawsuit. County attorneys argued that the alleged conduct would not fall within the scope of Carney's employment, and therefore the county should not be held responsible for his conduct, Pillemer said. The judge said there was alleged conduct that occurred over a long period of time, and the matter should be left up to a jury to decide, Pillemer said. The judge noted that Carney met the plaintiff's mother, a child abuse investigator, through his employment, Pillemer said. They met at a lecture, he said. Carney was acquitted Nov. 2, 2000, by a Los Angeles Superior Court jury of four child molestation Child molestation is a crime involving a range of indecent or sexual activities between an adult and a child, usually under the age of 14. In psychiatric terms, these acts are sometimes known as pedophilia. counts pertaining per·tain intr.v. per·tained, per·tain·ing, per·tains 1. To have reference; relate: evidence that pertains to the accident. 2. to two girls. The panel deadlocked 11-1 in favor of finding him not guilty on 12 charges involving two other girls, including the teen-ager who is suing him. A month later, a judge dismissed the remaining charges after prosecutors said they did not believe a second trial would result in a conviction. Carney worked for the Sheriff's Department for 23 years before his arrest in November 1999. After his arrest, he retired and also resigned his council post. Carney was elected to the City Council on Nov. 2, 1999, four days after his arrest. He resigned from his position two months later while he was in jail. Carney was sued by the girl before the criminal trial concluded. In a counterclaim A claim by a defendant opposing the claim of the plaintiff and seeking some relief from the plaintiff for the defendant. A counterclaim contains assertions that the defendant could have made by starting a lawsuit if the plaintiff had not already begun the action. filed in March 2001 as a part of that lawsuit, Carney asked for unspecified damages from a physician and nurse-practitioner who testified against him in the criminal trial. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion