Michelle Holden Sued by Youth in Sex Case

Michelle Holden, the wife of Pasadena City Councilman Chris Holden, is being sued by a teenage boy for alleged sexual abuse, assault and battery, infliction of emotional distress and slander.

Holden pleaded no contest in May to a single felony count involving the youth--having sexual intercourse with a minor--and was sentenced to three years’ probation. She was ordered to seek counseling and undergo random drug testing. Under terms of the plea bargain, she does not have to register as a sex offender.

In the new civil action, the youth and his family seek unspecified financial damages from Holden. The youth says he fears that emotional scars from his experience might leave him permanently disabled.

At a news conference Friday, the youth’s attorney, Leo James Terrell, blasted Holden and her criminal defense lawyer for what he called their character assassination of the teenager. Terrell disputed comments, made by Holden and her lawyer throughout the criminal case, that she was the real victim.

“He was 15 years old and this was the mayor’s wife grabbing him in front of her kids. This woman took advantage of this young boy,” Terrell said.

Holden has claimed the youth, who baby-sat for the Holden family, enticed her to smoke marijuana and sexually assaulted her.

But in his suit, the youth, now 16 and publicly known only as John Doe 1, charges that Holden initiated various sex acts several times in 1998.

Terrell called Holden’s criminal probation sentence, “a sweetheart deal,” and suggested that Holden was shielded by “political influence.”

At the time of her plea, Holden’s husband was mayor of Pasadena. Her father-in-law is Los Angeles City Councilman Nate Holden.

Mark J. Geragos, Holden’s criminal defense attorney, characterized the youth’s lawsuit as that family’s latest attempt to obtain money from the Holdens.

“It’s a shakedown,” he said.