Russo to Face New Trial on Felony Child Abuse Charge : Courts: D.A.’s decision to reprosecute comes two weeks after jury deadlocked in the case.

The Ventura County district attorney’s office will prosecute a wealthy Westlake mother a second time on a felony charge of abusing her teen-age daughter, a prosecutor said Friday.

The decision to prosecute Charlotte Russo a second time on a felony charge comes two weeks after a jury deadlocked in the high-profile case.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Dee Corona made the announcement after Russo’s attorney received permission in Superior Court on Friday to delay a hearing in which a date for Russo’s new trial would have been set.

Judge Charles W. Campbell declared the earlier mistrial on June 14, after jurors reported they were hopelessly deadlocked.

Eleven jurors cast votes to convict Russo of a felony for biting her daughter. But one juror--who told the others of his own experiences in disciplining an unruly child--voted for an acquittal.

That same jury convicted Russo of misdemeanor child abuse for forcing her adopted daughter to sleep in a back-yard racquetball court and striking her.

Russo faces up to six months in jail on her misdemeanor conviction. She would face up to six years in prison if convicted of the felony.

On Friday, Campbell ordered Russo to return to court next Tuesday for the setting of her new trial date.

With 11 jurors voting to convict Russo during the initial trial, prosecutors did not have much trouble in reaching the decision to retry the case, Corona said.

Corona said the jurors who voted to convict Russo urged prosecutors not to drop the charges.

“They felt she was guilty, and they were frustrated about what she did to this child,” the prosecutor said.

Russo’s attorney, James M. Farley, said his client requested the continuance Friday so she could think about trying to work out a plea agreement with prosecutors before Tuesday.

“We’re trying to work something out,” he said.

Russo and her husband, Richard, were arrested May 24, 1993, after neighbors reported seeing Charlotte Russo attack the girl in the family’s garage.

In addition to biting her daughter, now 16, Russo punched, pinched and scratched the girl, as well as forced her to sleep for long periods of time in the family’s back-yard racquetball court, according to trial testimony.

Richard Russo, 50, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor child abuse last November without going to trial. He served a 30-day jail term and was placed on three years’ probation.

Corona said Charlotte Russo would not be allowed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor.

“People should not treat children the way (Russo) treated this child,” Corona said.

Russo’s misdemeanor conviction related to all abuse against her daughter except the alleged biting, which prosecutors say occurred during the garage incident that led to the Russos being arrested.

At Russo’s first trial, her daughter testified for nearly five days, including an extensive cross-examination by Farley.

Corona said before Friday that the decision to retry Russo would depend on the girl’s willingness to take the stand against her mother for a second trial.

“She’s willing to go through the ordeal again,” Corona said outside court Friday.