Man Pleads Guilty to Abuse of Grandchild

A 77-year-old retired electrician whose 6-year-old granddaughter was discovered chained to a bedpost, clad only in a diaper and unable to speak, has pleaded guilty to child endangerment, officials said Thursday.

Loren Harrison Bess, of Norco, entered the felony guilty plea in Riverside County Superior Court just as he was expected to stand trial. Superior Court Judge Christian Thierbach asked that he return to court in May, after an evaluation that will help determine whether he is fit to spend time in a state prison, said prosecutor Robert Spira.

Bess still faces a six-year prison term, but the deal, known as an “open plea,” gives the judge discretion to sentence him to probation or county jail time, Spira said. The judge and corrections officials will also consider Bess’ age, the prosecutor said.

Darryl Exum, Bess’ defense lawyer, could not be reached for comment.

Acting on a tip from neighbors in September 1999, Riverside County sheriff’s deputies found the girl chained at the waist in an Elm Street home owned by Bess.

The room she was in was covered with feces and urine, and the girl’s teeth were green. Before she was taken to Loma Linda University Medical Center for three months of treatment, she weighed just 32 pounds, average for a 3-year-old, a doctor testified. Investigators learned that the girl had been restrained, using a chain and a nylon harness, for most of the day and had been fed little more than canned noodles.

Bess and his daughter, Cynthia Topper, were arrested.

Topper, who told investigators that the girl had been chained to a bed since she was 1, has already been sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty to felony child abuse.

The girl, who will turn 8 today, now is in foster care.

Spira said she has made significant progress physically, but her mental growth has been stunted by the abuse. She has yet to develop the ability to speak, Spira said.

“Physically she is in good shape. She has been catching up rapidly,” Spira said. “Developmentally, she is in bad shape.”