Man pleads guilty to molestation

David Albert Lemus, who performed as a clown at birthday parties and swap meets in the Fontana area, has pleaded guilty to molesting children and now faces 12 years in prison. Authorities say Lemus, 51, often committed the sexual assaults while dressed as a clown in heavy makeup, a red wig, floppy shoes and a big red nose.

He was arrested by Fontana police in 2005 after two girls, ages 12 and 14, said he had molested them.

Sgt. Jeffrey Decker, a spokesman for the Fontana Police Department, said the victims were known to Lemus, but he declined to provide further details. There were at least three victims, all girls, authorities said. The last attack happened in a van outside a swap meet at the National Orange Show Events Center in San Bernardino. Lemus was wearing his costume.

He pleaded guilty Friday to continuous sexual assault on a child and oral copulation by threat, said San Bernardino County Deputy Dist. Atty. Briye McCann.

-- David Kelly