Musician Who Molested Boy to Undergo Psychiatric Tests
A Granada Hills man who was the organist for Lawrence Welk’s orchestra was ordered Wednesday to undergo 90 days of psychiatric evaluation before he is sentenced for sexually molesting a 13-year-old boy.
Robert H. Ralston, 47, was sent by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Dion G. Morrow to the California Department of Corrections in Chino for diagnostic testing until he is sentenced Sept. 25.
Ralston, who left Welk’s band in 1983 after more than 20 years, pleaded no contest in March to one count of child molestation as part of a plea bargain in which prosecutors dropped three other charges, Deputy Dist. Atty. Rebecca Gale Omens said.
Ralston was arrested May 29, 1984, after a search of his home uncovered photographs of him engaged in homosexual acts with young boys. He could face a maximum sentence of eight years in state prison.
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