Scout Leader Pleads Guilty to Molesting Boys

A Canyon Country Boy Scout leader pleaded guilty Thursday to molesting five Scouts during overnight gatherings at his home.

Craig Ralph Mathias, a 27-year-old certified public accountant, entered his plea before San Fernando Municipal Court Judge Malcolm Mackey as victims and his pregnant wife looked on.

Mathias had been charged with six felony counts of child molestation and three misdemeanor counts involving nine boys, Deputy Dist. Atty. Pamela Davis-Springer said. To spare the children from testifying, Davis-Springer said she agreed to allow Mathias to plead guilty to five felony counts in exchange for a lighter prison sentence.

The prosecutor said Mathias is likely to receive a sentence of six years in prison. If Mathias had been convicted in a trial, he could have been sentenced to 12 years, she said. He is free on $50,000 bail. Sentencing is scheduled Oct. 16.

Mathias was arrested July 1 after a two-week investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Juvenile Operations Bureau indicated he had molested the Scouts on several occasions over an 18-month period during “sleep-overs” at his rural home, Deputy Pete Fosselman said.

The investigation began after one of the boys called the Sheriff’s Department in June. Investigators interviewed all 20 members of Mathias’s troop.

Nine boys, aged 10 to 14, told deputies that after Mathias’ wife went to bed, Mathias often engaged them in games that ended in sex play that included fondling them, Deputy Tom Kerfoot said.