Montclair sexual abuse case goes to jury

Jurors began deliberating this afternoon in the trial of a Mt. Baldy man accused of sexually abusing his girlfriend's 12-year-old daughter.

Gabriel Jimenez Garcia, 41, faces 13 felony counts for allegedly regularly abusing the girl from December 2007 to November 2008 at the girl's Montclair home.

Attorneys in the case gave closing arguments today after seven days of testimony in West Valley Superior Court, said Deputy District Attorney Karen Schmauss.

Prosecutors accuse Garcia, a former cook at the Mt. Baldy Lodge, of forcing the girl to have sex about once a week when the girl's mother would leave home to pick up her other children from school.

Jurors are scheduled to continue deliberating Tuesday morning, Schmauss said.