Local News in Brief : Ramona

Ten more child-molestation charges were added Monday against a Ramona man already charged with 185 counts.

The new charges against Ezra John Adams, 42, involve three new victims, two of whom once lived in Ramona, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Aaron Katz.

Adams pleaded not guilty to the new charges. His attorney, Roy Gunner, asked for a delay in Wednesday’s preliminary hearing because of his trial schedule, and the hearing was rescheduled for Jan. 23.

San Diego Municipal Judge Charles Patrick allowed bail to remain at $500,000.

Katz said that the Sheriff’s Department is continuing its investigation for other possible victims, and that more charges will be filed.

The 195 charges involve the alleged molestation of six victims, all girls, since 1983. One of the new charges filed Monday is a misdemeanor offense involving an 11-year-old girl at a San Diego home he visited for two days in March.

The case represents the largest number of child-molestation counts ever filed by authorities in San Diego County. If convicted on all counts, Adams could be sentenced to more than 700 years in state prison.