Woman Charged as Accessory in Daughter’s Rape

A woman whose husband allegedly raped her 7-year-old daughter at their wedding party, infecting the girl with the AIDS virus, has been arrested and charged with two felony counts.

The 37-year-old woman was charged with child endangerment and being an accessory to the molestation. If convicted, she could face nearly seven years in prison.

“We feel we have sufficient evidence to substantiate convictions,” Riverside County Deputy Dist. Atty. Timothy Schaaf said.

He would not comment on how the mother helped her husband.

The woman, a San Bernardino County probation officer whose name was withheld to protect the identity of her daughter, was being held Sunday in Riverside County Jail in lieu of $25,000 bail.

Also jailed was her husband, Frank Cisco Bridges, who has AIDS. Bridges, 43, was charged with five felonies including rape and child molestation, which could carry a 45-year prison term.

Bridges and his wife allegedly knew he had the deadly disease, authorities said.

Bridges, also a former San Bernardino County juvenile probation officer, allegedly lured the girl to an upstairs bedroom during a wedding reception at his bride’s Riverside home on Jan. 15, according to testimony at a preliminary hearing.

He allegedly threatened to kill her if she told anyone, but the girl’s screams alerted others, who called police.

The girl later tested positive for the virus that leads to AIDS.