Accused Child Molester Enters Insanity Plea

A man accused of a record-breaking number of child molestations pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity Monday after a San Diego County Superior Court judge determined he was competent to stand trial.

Of the 350 counts faced by Richard Ernest Howard, 46, most involve child molestation, a record for San Diego County. He is also charged with using the identity of a dead person--a 2-year-old boy from New Orleans who died in 1952.

If convicted of all counts and if found to be sane at the time of the crimes, Howard could be sentenced to 633 years in jail, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. John Williams.

Superior Court Judge Frederic L. Link presided over a short competence trial Monday. He found Howard to be mentally competent to stand trial, but the judge also allowed him to plead not guilty by reason of insanity.

Link set a trial date of Jan. 22. Under the provisions of the plea, the jury may either convict or acquit Howard of the charges.

If he is convicted of any or all of the crimes, the jury will then reconvene to determine if Howard was sane when the crimes were committed. If the jury finds he was insane, he will be sentenced to a state mental institution.

Howard is accused of molesting a number of girls in the South Bay. Prosecutors say he has admitted to molesting two girls, and that they have recovered videotapes that they say show Howard engaged in sex with several victims.

Howard also faces similar charges in Kitsap County, Wash., where prosecutors say he faked his own death in order to avoid prosecution five years ago. Officials are also investigating whether Howard was involved in the molestation of children in Las Cruces, N. M.