SIMI VALLEY : Trial of Accused Molester Continued

The trial of a Simi Valley man accused of molesting his daughter more than 25 years ago was continued until Sept. 2 because the case has stretched into a judge’s scheduled vacation, officials said Thursday.

A 37-year-old Paso Robles woman claims in the lawsuit that her father, who now lives in Simi Valley, molested her more than 150 times in their Lancaster home when she was between 8 and 11 years old, and that she kept the assaults repressed in her mind until 1991.

Ventura County Superior Court Judge Barbara A. Lane, however, told both parties that testimony in the case should be completed before her scheduled vacation, or that the case would be continued.

The woman is seeking more than $250,000 in cash damages from her father, who was convicted of a misdemeanor offense in 1967 after his wife alerted authorities that the girl had been molested, according to the woman’s lawyer.

Both sides are unable to determine the exact charge in 1967 because court records apparently have disappeared, the attorneys said.

Attorneys Kelton Lee Gibson, who represents the daughter, and Jeffrey S. Frasier, who represents the father, were not available on Thursday to comment on the case.

The plaintiff’s case was completed earlier this week, while the defense began its case on Wednesday. The court trial, which began last month, was scheduled for 10 days.