Man Sentenced to 3 Years for Try to Molest Girl

A Huntington Beach man who tried to force a 12-year-old girl into his car was sentenced Friday to three years in prison.

Glen Scott Simons, 26, pleaded no contest to a child molesting charge in return for the dismissal of attempted kidnaping and probation violation charges, said his attorney, Michael A. Horan .

The girl, from Seal Beach, had been standing with friends at Lampson Avenue and Seal Beach Boulevard in August when Simons asked for directions. He tried to pull her into his car, but she broke free and fled, and he drove away.

Simons was arrested the next day at his parole agent’s office. Simons, who has a criminal record dating to 1985, had been released by the state Department of Corrections three weeks before. Officials said his criminal convictions involved property crimes, including auto theft, and that he had been in and out of the adult corrections system since 1986.

Horan said his client pleaded no contest to shorten his prison term. “Because he was on probation for robbery . . . if he was tried and found guilty, he was looking at a lot of years,” Horan said.