Woman Jailed as Bail Raised
A Rancho Santa Margarita woman who had been out on bond in a child molestation case was taken back into custody Friday after a judge raised her bail.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Denise Alexander said she asked that bail for Sheila Marie Sikat, 23, be raised to $500,000 because she expects to file more charges against the woman and her husband, David S. Hwang, 31, who is being held without bail.
“Based on additional investigation, we will be filing additional charges,” Alexander said. “It’ll be multiple counts.”
Hwang and Sikat were arrested Sept. 3 after investigators executed a search warrant at their home on Via Hacienda. Hwang is charged with 21 counts of lewd acts upon a child and an additional charge of recording minors engaging in a sex act. Sikat faces four counts of lewd acts on a child and an additional count of recording minors engaging in sex acts.
Those charges, however, were filed after authorities had viewed only a small fraction of the 100 tapes they said they found at the couple’s home.
Alexander said investigators have viewed more tapes, but she could not say how many new charges will be filed or when.
A pretrial hearing is scheduled for both on Oct. 3.
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