El Monte : Child Molestation Case Plea

A former El Monte parks and recreation commissioner pleaded no contest last week to six counts of molesting a 6-year-old girl his wife was baby-sitting.

Luis Javier Ortiz, 68, during a preliminary hearing Wednesday in El Monte Municipal Court, agreed to a sentence of one year in prison and five years probation.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Christina Weiss said Ortiz fondled the girl and engaged in oral copulation with her between July, 1991, and last June. Police began an investigation after the crimes were reported June 22.

Ortiz, who resigned from the Parks and Recreation Commission last month for unrelated reasons, surrendered to police July 23 after an arrest warrant was issued.

He served on the Property Maintenance Commission from 1988 to January, 1992, when he was appointed to the Parks and Recreation Commission. He had also been a member of the board of directors of Pony Colt Baseball, a local baseball league for children ages 13 to 16.