Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Saugus Man Pleads No Contest to Sexual Assaults on 9 Girls

A Saugus man charged with 20 counts of sexual assault against nine girls pleaded no contest Thursday to nine of the charges, facing a sentence of 22 years in state prison.

Douglas Clark Greene, 36, had pleaded not guilty to the charges following his March 12 arrest. But he agreed to a plea-bargain Thursday in Newhall Municipal Court after Deputy Dist. Atty. Jan Maurizi said she would file 20 new charges against him--which would make his possible prison sentence more than 100 years--unless he accepted the agreement.

The new allegations involved the same nine victims--who were all under the age of 14 at the time, Maurizi said.

The assaults occurred at Greene’s house or at the home of victims, beginning in December 1992, authorities said. He said Greene was apparently self-employed, although the attorney did not know what field his client worked in.

Greene hesitated at times while entering his plea and was crying.

“Some of the things in here aren’t true,” Greene said in court.

Several family members of the victims also wept as they watched the hourlong court hearing before Judge Alan Rosenfield.

Family members declined to comment after the hearing and Maurizi, at the request of family members, refused to discuss specifics of the abuse charges.

“They’re really devastated,” Maurizi said of the families.

Greene pleaded no contest to seven counts of performing a lewd act on a child under 14 years of age, one count of continuous sexual abuse on a child under 14 and one count of oral copulation on a child under 14.

Greene is in custody without bail until he is formally sentenced June 15.