Local News in Brief : Molest Conviction Upset
The Rhode Island Supreme Court on Tuesday threw out child molestation charges against drifter David Collins, who was convicted of kidnaping a California teen-ager and taking him on a two-year trip across the country.
Collins was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1986 on charges that he kidnaped Bobby Smith Jr. of Long Beach and molested him during the odyssey that ended in Rhode Island.
While upholding the kidnaping conviction, for which Collins was sentenced to 20 years in jail, the state Supreme Court overturned the molestation conviction because it was based on a law that only applies to victims exactly 13 years old or younger. Smith had passed his 13th birthday.
The attorney general’s office, anticipating the court’s decision, filed a new set of charges against Collins in December.
More to Read
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.
