Scout Leader Pleads Guilty to Molesting Boys at His Home

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

Craig Ralph Mathias, 27, a certified public accountant, entered his plea before San Fernando Municipal Judge Malcolm Mackey as victims and his 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 will probably be sentenced to 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 for Oct. 16.

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