Wednesday, July 18, 2001

Convicted molester seeking a new trial By JOHN MUNFORD jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com A man convicted in March of child molestation is asking for a new trial. Attorney Lee Sexton claims Ricky Johnson shouldn't have been convicted because the victim failed to identify him in court and the jury wasn't made aware that the victim had previously been molested. In a court hearing Friday, Sexton also claimed that Johnson's previous attorney inadequately represented him by failing to request records from the Department of Family and Children Services. Assistant District Attorney Jamie Inagawa argued that although the victim didn't identify Johnson in court, she did identify him while speaking to a DFCS investigator who worked the case. He also said Johnson's previous attorney had the DFCS records available to her at trial through an in-camera inspection by the presiding judge. The victim's previous molestation was not allowed to be entered as evidence during the trial, Inagawa said. Chief Superior Court Judge Ben Miller is expected to rule on the request for a new trial in the coming days. What do you think of this story? Click here to send a message to the editor. Back to News Home Page | Back to the top of the page