Huntington Beach woman charged with perjury in effort to help boyfriend accused of sexually assaulting girl

A Huntington Beach woman was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of lying under oath while testifying in the criminal trial of her boyfriend, who was convicted last year of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl, prosecutors said.

Cynthia Marie Dunaway-Erickson, 50, is facing two felony counts of accessory after the fact and one felony count of perjury, according to Orange County Superior Court records.

She has not yet entered a plea. A date for her arraignment has not been set.

If convicted, she could face a maximum sentence of five years and four months in state prison, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office.

In October 2016, Dunaway-Erickson testified on behalf of Jeffrey Scott Jones, a Huntington Beach resident who was convicted later that month of two felony counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and one felony count of continuous sexual abuse, according to court records and prosecutors. Jones slit his throat in court with a small razor blade after being found guilty.

He was sentenced in March to 46 years to life in state prison and ordered to register as a sex offender. He has appealed his conviction, according to court records.

Between September 2012 and April 2013, prosecutors said, Jones frequently abused a 13-year-old girl who was in Dunaway-Erickson’s care. The relationship between the girl and Jones and Dunaway-Erickson is not clear.

Prosecutors said Jones raped the girl on two occasions and told her he would ruin her life if she told anyone.

On May 10, 2013, the day after one of the rapes, the girl told a friend’s mother what had happened, prosecutors said.

Police took the girl to a hospital for a rape exam and a month later determined that Jones’ DNA matched DNA found on the girl. Jones was arrested at his home in June 2013.

Prosecutors allege that while Dunaway-Erickson was testifying during Jones’ trial, she lied about how Jones’ semen got into the girl’s cervix.

Prosecutors also allege that Dunaway-Erickson provided the court with false information about jury tampering in an effort to keep Jones from being convicted.

Huntington Beach police and the district attorney’s office launched an investigation after they noticed inconsistencies between Dunaway-Erickson’s testimony and her statements to police, according to the DA’s office.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN