El Cajon
A man charged with the murder and felony child abuse of his girlfriend’s 2 1/2-year-old daughter was denied bail at his arraignment Friday in San Diego Municipal Court.
Judge Peter Riddle ruled out bail for Matthew Laverne Lesure, 28.
Sarah Nicole Toussant of El Cajon was found dead in a trash bin Tuesday morning. She was last seen with Lesure at Renette Park in El Cajon, near her mother’s apartment.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Rick Clabby said the district attorney’s office is also investigating the possibility that the child was sexually abused. Lesure has been charged with “lewd and lascivious acts on a child under the age of 14 years,” Clabby said.
Lesure pleaded innocent.
Clabby said there is a possibility he could invoke special circumstances in prosecuting Lesure, under which the death penalty or life in prison without parole could be imposed as a sentence.
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