Former MB church intern pleads to sexual assault
Here's the top of what I just filed:
A former Manhattan Beach church intern pleaded no contest Monday to a misdemeanor sexual battery charge for groping an 18-year-old co-worker.
Clifford Ames Jr., 28, of Gardena was then sentenced to 40 days of community service on a Dept. of Transportation work crew and three years probation.
He must also register as a sex offender.
Ames changed his plea just as he was about to go to trial before Torrance Superior Court Judge Hector Guzman.
Earlier Monday, Guzman ruled that a jury could hear about two prior incidents of Ames being accused of sexually assaulting boys when he was still a juvenile.
After Guzman ruled that the allegations could go before a jury, Deputy District Attorney Chris Hartman offered Ames 120 days in jail in exchange for his plea.
However, it was Guzman's offer that Ames accepted, despite Hartman objecting to the deal.
Guzman said that the prosecutor's offer was "a little high," and added that it was best to avoid the potential stress both sides would face during a jury trial.
Had Ames been convicted by a jury, he faced a maximum of six months in jail.
Ames was previously a summer intern at Journey of Faith Christian Church, where the victim also worked.
According to a police report, the victim had known Ames for about 10 years. He described Ames as "touchy feely," but said nothing sexual had ever occurred between them before Oct. 23.
On that day, Ames drove the victim to get a coffee and then drove him around residential streets, repeatedly putting his hand on the victim's leg and reaching for his crotch area, according to the report.
The victim said he removed Ames' hand every time.
The rest of this article, including details about the old Redondo Beach allegations and what Ames told the police, will be in tomorrow's Daily Breeze.
About the Blogger
Larry Altman has covered crime in the South Bay since 1990. He's seen it all - the missing model who turned up dead in the desert, the wives found dead in trunks, the high-school coaches who get a little too close to their players. He drives his young colleagues nuts with his "I remember when" stories. He welcomes your tips and observations about the present, and you can mix in a little Lakers basketball talk if you like.
E-mail Larry at larry.altman@dailybreeze.com.
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About the Blogger
Denise Nix knew as young as grade school, when she spent every summer working on the camp newspaper, that she wanted to be a journalist. Denise has spent most of the last 12 years of her career in the courtroom. She joined the Daily Breeze in 2001, where she tracks and reports on hundreds of cases at every level of the justice system. And she's never, ever, seen a judge use a gavel.
E-mail Denise at denise.nix@dailybreeze.com.
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