San Diego
A 23-year-old woman pleaded innocent Thursday to 49 counts of molesting three 11- and 12-year-old girls.
Lori Bartz of El Cajon was ordered held on $405,000 bail in Las Colinas County Jail by San Diego Municipal Judge Charles Hayes.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Mary Avery told Hayes that Bartz simulated the voice of the devil to frighten one 11-year-old victim and that Bartz was once institutionalized in a mental hospital.
“She has threatened to kill the parents of one victim,” Avery said.
The prosecutor said that she met the girls at the swimming pool of her apartment complex and that some of the sex acts were committed on the grounds of a school and behind a roller skating rink. Nude photographs were taken of one girl, Avery said.
Hayes set a bail review for Oct. 21 and a preliminary hearing for Oct. 30. He cited the defendant’s mental instability and threats of violence as reasons for justifying the high bail.
Avery said Bartz was once married and her husband became annoyed at the frequency of visits by children. She said her husband finally had to put up a sign at their apartment stating “no kids allowed.”
The prosecutor said Bartz had sent letters and gifts to the girls in the past.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
