Contractor Accused of Molestation
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A Ventura contractor is scheduled to be arraigned this month on 11 counts of child molestation for allegedly engaging in sexual acts with a boy during a four-year period starting when the boy was 13, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Douglas Muelder, president of California Land Clearing in Ventura, is set to come before a Ventura County Municipal Court judge Aug. 21 on charges that he molested the boy starting in 1984, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Jacqueline Wise.
The charges were filed this summer after the alleged victim--now 25--reported the crimes to Ventura police investigators, Wise said.
Although the six-year statute of limitations on the charges has expired, Wise said, a recent state law allows exceptions if the molestation is deemed significant and there is evidence to corroborate the charges.
“We’ve got that evidence,” Wise said.
Muelder is accused of 11 counts of oral copulation and sodomy against the youth, allegedly occurring until he turned 18, she said.
The arraignment, originally set for Wednesday, was continued two weeks to allow Muelder’s attorney to review the charges, Wise said.
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