Sexual Assault

The pretrial for two retired teachers charged with sexually assaulting a 17-year-old boy has been postponed until January. Former Westminster High School teacher Daniel Shepard and his wife, former Mesa View Middle School teacher Gay Davidson-Shepard, were scheduled to go to pretrial Thursday at the West Justice Center in Westminster. However, attorney Salvatore Ciulla, who represents Shepard, requested an extension. Judge John Adams set the new pretrial date for Jan. 5. Shepard and Davidson-Shepard are charged with oral copulation of a minor, sodomy of a person younger than 18 and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Woman, 26, attacked while jogging early on Dec. 12 near Newland St. and Talbert Ave.Police continued to search this week for a man suspected in the Dec. 12 sexual assault of a woman jogger. The 26-year-old woman was running at about 5:50 a.m. near Newland Street and Talbert Avenue when a man attacked her from behind, according to a police report. Police describe the suspect as 30 to 40 years old and 5 feet 11 with a heavy build. He had medium-length hair and was wearing a knit cap. There have been no other similar sexual assaults recently in Huntington Beach, but there have been a few in Fountain Valley in recent months, Lt. Craig Junginger said.

A Huntington Beach man pleaded not guilty Friday to kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 7-year-old autistic girl. Daniel Vlas Flores, 27, originally identified as Daniel Blas Flores, is being held on $1-million bail after being charged with one felony count of kidnapping to commit a sexual offense, sexual intercourse and sexual penetration with a child under 10 and sentencing enhancements for great bodily harm to a sexual assault victim....

A Huntington Beach man was found guilty Nov. 5 of all charges in the violent sexual assault of an 83-year-old woman in Rossmoor, the Orange County District Attorney’s office said. Jeffrey Miller, 38, has been convicted of three counts of sexual penetration by a foreign object by force, first-degree residential burglary, first-degree robbery, and sentencing enhancements for committing a sexual assault during the course of a burglary and committing a crime against a vulnerable victim, authorities said.

The preliminary hearing for a San Diego man accused of killing Huntington Beach resident Dane Williams and sodomizing another man began today. The hearing was split in two to deal with the victims separately, and today’s hearing was about the other victim. The hearing pertaining to Williams is expected to begin in February, officials said. Philong Huynh, 39, was charged with the death of Williams, who went missing for three days before being found dead in January 2008.

A Huntington Beach man was pronounced guilty Wednesday of all charges in the violent sexual assault of an 83-year-old woman in Rossmoor, the Orange County District Attorney’s office said. Jeffrey Miller, 38, has been convicted of four counts of sexual penetration by a foreign object by force, first degree residential burglary, first degree robbery, and sentencing enhancements for committing a sexual assault during the course of a burglary and committing a crime against a vulnerable victim, authorities said.

A verdict has been announced in the trial of a medical student accused in the sexual assault and murder of an Orange County man. Philong "Phillip" Huynh, has been convicted on all counts in the 2008 murder and sexual assault of 23-year old Dane Williams, who was later found dead in an alley near Huynh's home. The 39-year old Huynh was charged with murder and a special circumstance allegation of murder during sodomy or oral copulation in Williams' death. Williams, an intern with Hurley International, was in San Diego to attend the Action Sports Retailers Convention.

The San Diego man charged with the death and sexual assault of Huntington Beach resident Dane Williams is expected to go back to court Tuesday for preliminary trial. Philong Huynh, 39, is charged with the murder and sexual assault of 23-year-old Williams for allegedly drugging and raping him. He is also charged with an additional count of sexual assault for sodomizing another man. He pleaded not guilty to all charges. Huynh began preliminary trial in San Diego in December for the other case, but the focus will turn to Williams on Tuesday, officials said.

A San Diego man pleaded not guilty for the murder and sexual assault of Dane Williams today, almost two years after the Huntington Beach resident went missing for three days and was found dead. Philong Huynh, 34, was charged with one count of murder and one count of sexual assault for allegedly drugging and raping Williams. He was charged with an additional count of sexual assault for a separate case. Huynh was arrested by the San Diego Police Department on Thursday. The second sexual assault case helped shed light on Williams’ death, police said.

Tragedies like this catch us off guard, when we are vulnerable, leaving no time to prepare or to absorb the sickening blow. Then the most brutal events imaginable begin to unfold. In the blur of modern technology and communication, shards of information cut the air and a million mistakes are made and knee-jerk debates are instantly ignited about guns and insanity and evil; but for all the theorizing, anger and outrage, the outcome is never altered. It seems there are always innocent people scythed down like wheat instantly and insanely felled.

A Huntington Beach man was convicted and sentenced Friday for sexually assaulting three female clients at a Seal Beach massage parlor, according to a release from the Orange County district attorney's office. Jason Michael Elliott, 29, pleaded guilty to one felony and two misdemeanor counts of sexual battery and was sentenced to one year in jail, three years of formal probation and lifetime sex offender registration. According to the release, Elliott worked at Seal Beach Massage Envy from August 2009 to April 2010.

The trial of a former Huntington Beach police officer accused of sexual assault, false imprisonment by violence or deceit, criminal threats and domestic battery, among other charges, was continued to Feb. 1. James Roberts' attorney, John Barnett, is in the middle of another trial. Roberts faces 19 felonies and was fired by the Huntington Beach Police Department after an internal investigation. His ex-wife, whose name is being withheld because she's a possible rape victim, is accusing the police department of covering for Roberts in a civil lawsuit she filed on her and her young son's behalf.

A Huntington Beach man was found guilty Friday of sexually assaulting a developmentally disabled 7-year-old girl. Daniel Vlas Flores, 30, was convicted of kidnapping to commit a sexual offense, sexual intercourse, sodomy and sexual penetration of a child 10 years old or younger, according to the Orange County district attorney's office. He faces a maximum of 72 years in prison. Flores approached the girl as she played with her 8-year-old neighbor and friend on Aug. 19, 2009, at the yard of the apartment complex in the 7800 block of Sycamore Avenue.

The trial of a Huntington Beach man accused of sexually assaulting a developmentally disabled 7-year-old girl is underway. Daniel Vlas Flores, 30, is charged with a felony count each for kidnapping to commit a sexual offense, sexual penetration, sexual intercourse and sodomy of a child 10 years old or younger, according to the Orange County district attorney's office. He faces life in state prison if convicted. The opening statement for Flores began Thursday morning at the West Justice Center in Westminster.

The trial of a former Huntington Beach police officer accused of sexual assault has been pushed back because of scheduling conflicts. James Roberts, who faces 19 felony charges that include raping and sodomizing his ex-wife and alleged mistress, was initially scheduled to face trial Monday. But his defense attorney, John Barnett, has just completed a trial, and Orange County Senior Deputy District Attorney John Christl, who is prosecuting the case, is in the middle of another case.

A pastor and youth soccer coach pleaded not guilty this week to charges that he possessed child pornography and molested an 8-year-old Huntington Beach girl. Christopher Raymond Olague, 39, of Westminster was arrested in October by the Huntington Beach Police Department after the mother of the victim reported the alleged molestation. Olague allegedly picked up the girl Oct. 5 for a play date at a park with one of his daughters. Instead, he took her to the parking lot of a grocery store and molested her, said HBPD Lt. Russell Reinhart.

A Huntington Beach man was charged Wednesday with breaking into an Anaheim couple's residence on Halloween night and sexually assaulting a woman as she slept next to her husband. Christopher David Schwanke, 35, allegedly broke into the victim's home through a back door about 11 p.m. and entered the bedroom, where the couple was sleeping, and sexually assaulted the wife by digitally penetrating her. The woman awoke, then woke her husband when she realized he was asleep. Schwanke is accused of attempting to hide by lying on the floor next to the wife's side of the bed, where the husband found him and tackled him. Schwanke was arrested by the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

The pretrial for two retired teachers charged with sexually assaulting a 17-year-old boy has been postponed until January. Former Westminster High School teacher Daniel Shepard and his wife, former Mesa View Middle School teacher Gay Davidson-Shepard, were scheduled to go to pretrial Thursday at the West Justice Center in Westminster. However, attorney Salvatore Ciulla, who represents Shepard, requested an extension. Judge John Adams set the new pretrial date for Jan. 5. Shepard and Davidson-Shepard are charged with oral copulation of a minor, sodomy of a person younger than 18 and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

The Orange County district attorney's office is looking for additional potential victims of a Sunset Beach masseur accused of sexually assaulting three women while working at Massage Envy in Seal Beach. Jason Michael Elliott, 28, is charged with three felony counts of assault with the intent to commit a sexual offense. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of eight years and eight months in state prison. Elliott, whose pre-trial hearing was scheduled Friday, is out on $100,000 bail, according to the district attorney's office.