Supervisor Found Innocent of Molestation

Santa Clara County Supervisor Tom Legan, who is seeking reelection, was found innocent Friday of three counts of molesting his elder daughter in 1982.

A jury of seven men and five women deliberated for six days before reaching their verdict, and advised Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Daniel Creed earlier this week that they were deadlocked 7 to 5. He told them to continue mulling over evidence in the monthlong trial in an effort to reach agreement.

Lisa Legan, now 18, testified against her 45-year-old father, who maintained his innocence and said his daughter was being manipulated by his ex-wife in a vindictive plot for increased financial support.

The charges against Legan allege that he molested his daughter between Jan. 6 and Jan. 11 in his former home on Peachwood Drive. The dates were established based on the times Legan’s former wife went to Las Vegas with the man who is now her husband.

The defense used Legan’s daily planner, in which he recorded his activities, to show notations indicating he did not spend the night at the family home on the nights in question and was never there after Dec. 4, 1981.