Teen Charged With Molesting Girl Will Be Tried as an Adult
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LAGUNA NIGUEL — A 16-year-old boy charged with luring a 6-year-old girl into a bookstore restroom and molesting her will be tried as an adult, authorities said.
The Irvine teen-ager will be arraigned Thursday in Municipal Court in Laguna Niguel on charges of forced child molestation, kidnaping, attempting a lewd act upon a child and committing a lewd act upon a child, Sheriff’s Lt. Ron Wilkerson said.
A Juvenile Court judge ruled during an Oct. 25 hearing that the teen-ager should be tried as an adult, Wilkerson said.
He is charged with luring the girl into a restroom at a Laguna Niguel bookstore Aug. 21 using “The Ultimate Dog Book.” Investigators said that a fingerprint lifted from the book was used to track the youth.
The teen-ager also is charged with a prior molestation at a Laguna Niguel pizza parlor and another sexual assault that occurred in Irvine. If convicted on all charges, the youth faces a possible sentence of 25 years to life, authorities said.
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