D.A. RULES OUT CARNEY RETRIAL EVIDENCE CALLED NOT COMPELLING.Byline: Troy Anderson and Charles F. Bostwick Staff Writers 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. - A month after a jury acquitted former Palmdale Councilman Kevin Carney 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. charges, a Superior Court judge dismissed all remaining criminal charges against him. Deputy District Attorney Rob Dver told Superior Court Judge Jacqueline Connor on Monday that his office did not oppose a defense motion to dismiss the 12 charges. ``Basically, after reviewing the case we determined there was not enough compelling evidence that would warrant taking this to trial again,'' said district attorney spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons Famous people named Gibbons include:
In a memo recommending dismissal, the prosecutor said he did not believe a second trial would result in a conviction. Carney's principal accuser, a 15-year-old girl to whom he said he acted as a surrogate uncle, ``was not a convincing witness,'' Dver wrote. And there is no corroborating physical evidence for the allegations of a second younger girl, he said. The only possible source of new evidence would be testimony from a child-abuse expert explaining why children delay in reporting 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 : seven or eight years in the 15-year-old's case, or several months for the younger girl, Dver wrote. But Dver noted that the 15-year-old had repeatedly told her mother, law enforcement officers and her sister that Carney had not 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 before finally leveling her accusation last October. The former sheriff's sergeant was acquitted Nov. 2 of charges involving two other girls - one a friend of the 15-year-old, one a friend of the younger girl - after four days of deliberation deliberation n. the act of considering, discussing, and, hopefully, reaching a conclusion, such as a jury's discussions, voting and decision-making. DELIBERATION, contracts, crimes. by a Los Angeles Superior Court jury. The jury deadlocked dead·lock n. 1. A standstill resulting from the opposition of two unrelenting forces or factions. 2. Sports A tied score. 3. 11-1 for acquittal The legal and formal certification of the innocence of a person who has been charged with a crime. Acquittals in fact take place when a jury finds a verdict of not guilty. on charges involving the two other girls. After the trial, jurors said the four girls' stories differed too much between what they said during the trial and what they had told detectives in taped interviews. The 15-year-old told jurors that the molestation started when she was about 6 years old and ended after she told her mother Oct. 28 that Carney coerced her into sex after school Oct. 28 at an old almond orchard. Two younger girls first raised their allegations against Carney in 1997, saying Carney touched them when they were at his house looking at his collection of turtles, but prosecutors had then declined to file charges. The fourth girl, a friend of the 15-year-old, said Carney molested her after she crawled into his sleeping bag on a 1994 camping trip. Carney still faces a civil lawsuit filed by the 15-year-old and her mother. The suit also names the Antelope Valley Union High School District The Antelope Valley Union High School District (A.V.U.H.S.D.) is located in the Antelope Valley area of California, in northern Los Angeles County. The district includes eight public high schools, one trade school, and two continuation high schools in the cities of Palmdale and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department This article is about the Los Angeles County Sherriff's Department, not to be confused with the smaller Los Angeles County Police The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) is a local law enforcement agency that serves Los Angeles County, California. . The attorney for the girl declined Monday to comment but said he would continue to pursue his clients' civil remedies CIVIL REMEDY, practice. This term is used in opposition to the remedy given by indictment in a criminal case, and signifies the remedy which the law gives to the party against the offender. 2. . Carney, a former high school trustee, was relieved of duty from the Lancaster sheriff's station after his arrest Oct. 29, 1999. He has since retired. He was elected to the Palmdale Council on Nov. 2, 1999, but resigned his position two months later from jail. He has been out on bail since May. After the dismissal, Carney said he's grateful the case against him was dropped and he now plans to write a book called ``Framing the Turtle Man'' about what he called the lies against him. ``During the trial, these girls who made these allegations told completely different stories,'' said Carney, standing in front of the Criminal Courts building downtown with his wife holding his arm. ``They were lies. It's more than inaccuracies. They were lies.'' Carney's wife, Kathleen, said her family is relieved the charges were dismissed. ``I'm just relieved that this is going to be behind us and I'd like to thank all the people who have supported us through their prayers and cards,'' she said. ``Now, we can go on with our lives and have a good Christmas.'' |
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