San Bernardino Man Accused of Molestation
A San Bernardino man embroiled in an international adoption dispute over twin babies was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of child molestation, a San Bernardino County sheriff’s spokesman said.
Richard Allen, 49, is expected to be charged today with lewd and lascivious behavior, a felony, in several incidents with two teenage girls, sisters who worked as baby-sitters for Allen and his wife, said Chip Patterson, a sheriff’s spokesman.
Allen was held on $100,000 bail.
Police began investigating Allen after a 13-year-old baby-sitter alleged he had molested her in November, Patterson said. Her 14-year-old sister then reported several similar incidents in 1999.
Allen was not suspected of inappropriate behavior with the adopted twins, who were in the Allens’ care until early December, Patterson said.
Last October, an Internet adoption broker placed the twins with the Allens but later took the babies back and gave them, for a higher fee, to a couple in Great Britain. The case sparked public outrage and legal wrangling in both countries.
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