SIMI VALLEY : Guilty Plea Entered in Molestation Case

A preliminary hearing was stopped Tuesday and a Simi Valley child-molestation defendant allowed to plead guilty to 23 of 49 charges against him after his 12-year-old victim broke down in tears during testimony.

“She started crying and said she didn’t want him to go to jail,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Dee Corona explained after the girl was led away from the witness stand.

Her attacker, Marco Antonio Quezada, 32, entered the guilty pleas in Ventura County Superior Court.

Quezada was charged in April with 49 criminal counts in connection with attacks on the girl from December, 1988, to May, 1992. The incidents--including fondling, masturbation and oral copulation--began when she was in third grade and lasted until May, 1992, authorities said.

The girl cried while testifying in a preliminary hearing to determine whether there was enough evidence for Superior Court Judge Charles W. Campbell Jr. to order Quezada to stand trial. The proceeding was quickly recessed when prosecutors figured out a way to resolve the case without further testimony from the victim.

As part of the deal, a special allegation that accused Quezada of using force to molest the girl also was dismissed. That allegation would have required a prison term upon conviction.

Quezada faces up to 52 years in prison for his guilty plea but is eligible for probation. Campbell ordered him to undergo psychological tests before his July 15 sentencing. He is free in lieu of $10,000 bail.

Corona knew before Tuesday’s testimony that the girl had reservations about Quezada serving prison time, but he said, “It’s the first time she’s made it that clear.”

Defense attorney Joseph D. O’Neill said prosecutors filed too many charges against Quezada. The 49 criminal counts prevented an earlier disposition of the case that would have spared the girl from having to testify, he said.

“Forty-nine counts is absurd,” O’Neill said. “This is a classic example of the district attorney overcharging these cases and inviting me to take it to trial.”