Suspected Molester Quits Council Post

In a shakily handwritten letter read Saturday by his lawyer, a Palmdale city councilman charged with 17 felony counts stemming from the alleged sexual abuse of four girls resigned from his elected post.

“I would rather wrestle a grizzly bear than write this letter,” Kevin Carney wrote Friday night from his downtown Los Angeles cell, the same one used by O.J. Simpson five years ago. “However, we all know that for the next several months, all of my energies will be devoted to proving my innocence.”

The one-page letter, which had several scratched-out words and phrases, was read in front of the Men’s Central Jail by attorney Milton Grimes. Carney’s wife was inside the downtown facility visiting her husband at the time, Grimes said.

Carney, 48, a Los Angeles County sheriff’s sergeant, is also resigning from the department effective in February, Grimes said. Carney was stripped of paid administrative leave after being arrested Thursday.

He was elected to the Palmdale City Council just four days after his initial Oct. 29 arrest on suspicion of child abuse. That prompted him to essentially shut down his campaign. But Carney nonetheless finished second in a field of 13 candidates, largely on the strength of absentee votes.

Since being sworn in Dec. 1, he has attended only one City Council meeting, said Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford, a political foe.

“This is really the best thing for all parties,” said Ledford, who beat Carney in the mayoral race three years ago. Ledford added that the publicity surrounding Carney’s ordeal is bad for the city.

At least one of Carney’s political allies agreed with the resignation.

“He needs to focus on his trial, and I don’t think that at this particular time he would have the time to serve the community the way it needs to be served,” said Palmdale school board President Larry Logsdon.

“I’ve only seen him in the context of a good public servant,” Logsdon added. “I think he would have made an excellent city councilman.”

Neither Logsdon nor Ledford would say whether they believe that Carney is guilty.

Ledford said he and the remaining three council members have 30 days to decide whether to call a new election in November or appoint a new member to fill Carney’s seat. The third-place finisher, Sandy Corrales, could not be reached for comment.

The council post is a part-time job paying $600 a month.

Grimes said Saturday that all of the child sexual abuse allegations, the first of which surfaced during Carney’s failed mayoral bid in 1997, were politically motivated, a claim that sheriff’s officials and prosecutors have consistently denied.

The accusers were Antelope Valley girls under age 14 when the alleged crimes took place, authorities have said. The counts stem from incidents dating back to 1990.

“He’s known the children since he’s been in Palmdale,” said Grimes. The lawyer added that at a hearing Friday, he will seek to have Carney’s bail reduced from the current $2 million to $100,000, the amount levied after the October arrest.

If convicted on all counts, Carney faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

In his letter, he urged Palmdale residents to “watch the trial closely, because at the end of the day, you will also know that I am not guilty.”