ALTADENA : Psychologist Sentenced for Molesting Boys

An Altadena psychologist has been sentenced to five years in prison for molesting his foster son and another boy.

Jim Mercer, a 44-year-old former foster parent and teacher of learning-disabled children, was described as a “Jekyll and Hyde” character by Pasadena Superior Court Judge Thomas W. Stoever, who handed down the sentence last Thursday.

Mercer was convicted Dec. 22 of nine counts of oral copulation and lewd conduct with adolescent boys.

All the incidents occurred between 1990 and 1992. His two victims, who were 14 and 15 in 1992, were his students at Marianne Frostig Center for Educational Therapy. The boys reported the molestation to a center official in June.