Elders’s defense denies molestation charges

A 73-year-old man molested two female family members 20 years ago and molested another young girl 2 1/2 years ago, a prosecutor said today, but a defense attorney said the allegations were false and a result of a relative’s dislike for the defendant.

Francisco Javier Esquivel was arrested in September 2008 and faces 18 years in prison if convicted. He is charged with six counts of committing a lewd act on a child.

In his opening statement, prosecutor Dan Link said the alleged molestations came to light in June 2007, when a then-6-year-old relative of the defendant told her mother that Esquivel was touching her inappropriately. The alleged abuse occurred during family’s visits to Esquivel’s home in Bay View Heights, according to authorities.

The mother went to police, who questioned family members and found two sisters who said Esquivel had also molested them when they were young. Those alleged victims are now 27 and 28 years old, Link said. Link said the sisters will testify that Esquivel touched their private parts in his home and also when he took them for rides in his car.

Both adult victims never reported the molestation and hoped it would go away, Link said. Defense attorney Charles Luckman told the jury in his opening statement that Esquivel denies that the molestations took place and blames the allegations on a relative who doesn’t like him.

The trial is scheduled to continue Tuesday in the courtroom of Judge Michael Wellington.

City News Services wrote and edited this article.

Tags: SDNN

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