Charged With Molesting 5 Boys : Foster Father Changes Plea in Sex Case

A foster father charged with molesting five of the boys in his care at a private group home in Lake View Terrace pleaded no contest in San Fernando Municipal Court Tuesday to five counts of child molestation.

Edward Lamar Burgess, 27, who was arrested Friday, originally faced 26 counts of child molestation, sodomy and oral copulation for allegedly abusing the children between February and June of this year. Some of the boys, who range in age from 10 to 17, are emotionally disturbed and at least one was placed in foster care after being sexually molested at home, Deputy Dist. Atty. Kenneth Loveman said.

At his arraignment Tuesday afternoon, Burgess at first pleaded not guilty to the charges but returned to court about 45 minutes later to accept a plea bargain that calls for a maximum six-year prison sentence and dismissal of the remaining charges. He is to be sentenced Sept. 3.

Burgess could have been ordered to serve up to 40 years in prison if he had been convicted on all 26 counts, Deputy Public Defender Paul Enright said.

Plea of No Contest

Enright said he told his client to plead no contest instead of guilty because “he didn’t admit factually that there was abuse.” A plea of no contest has the same effect as a guilty plea in criminal courts and in the event that a civil case for damages is filed, Loveman said.

Loveman said he negotiated the plea because he did not want to force the victims to testify.

“We were prepared to prosecute this case to the fullest extent possible, but we felt we had an obligation to these children who have suffered so much to dispose of this case at the earliest moment possible,” Loveman said.

“These kids have suffered so much in their lives--including past molestations, including emotional problems, including being placed in a foster home and separated from their parents--that having to testify would be even more detrimental to them than the usual, terrible court experience is for kids,” he said.

Burgess remains in custody in lieu of $100,000 bail.