Ex-Scout Leader Guilty of Molestations
A former Cub Scout leader in Dana Point was convicted Tuesday of molesting three boys he befriended through Scouting.
A jury deliberated about eight hours before finding Gary Lee Gephart, 39, of Oceanside guilty of kidnapping and lewd conduct with children. The victims ranged from 7 to 12 years old.
Jurors also found that substantial sexual conduct had taken place and convicted Gephart of a special allegation of multiple victims. The panel deadlocked on allegations involving a fourth boy and the charge was dismissed.
Gephart, an assistant leader for Dana Point Cub Scout Pack 713, faces up to life in state prison when he is sentenced May 10 by Orange County Superior Court Judge Leonard H. McBride.
Gephart was arrested in June after an 11-year-old Scout alleged he was fondled while the two shared a tent on a camping trip at Doheny State Beach. Additional charges were filed a few weeks later when other boys also said Gephart molested them between January 1993 and June 1995.
Gephart became friends with the victims through Scouts, “at some point crossing the line into lewd conduct,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Rosanne Froeberg said.
His lawyer, deputy public defender Jean Wilkinson, declined to comment.
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