Saturday, May 19, 2007

Molestation trial begins for ex-Calif. firefighter

Picture- Booking Photo Berkeley Firefighter-Paramedic Luis Ponce

Molestation trial begins for ex-Calif. firefighter: "

Molestation trial begins for ex-Calif. firefighter

By Kristin Bender
Inside Bay Area (California)
Copyright 2007 MediaNews Group, Inc. and ANG Newspapers
All Rights Reserved

BERKELEY, Calif. — The criminal trial for a former Berkeley firefighter charged with 16 counts of felony aggravated child molestation began this week in Nevada County Superior Court in Nevada City.

Luis Ponce was a paramedic supervisor with the Berkeley Fire Department for 17 years before his arrest in January 2006 after a female colleague discovered a computer disc containing child pornography on a station computer Ponce had been using.

Later, police discovered at least 100 computer discs containing child pornography and 60 pairs of girl's panties in his fire station locker.

He resigned in February 2006 after charges were filed against him both in Nevada County and Alameda County. The charges he faces in Nevada County are for molesting two young girls at his home in Grass Valley in Nevada County.

In Alameda County, Ponce faces 57 misdemeanor counts based on 30,000 images of pornography involving very young children that were found in his Berkeley Fire Department locker. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

He and his wife, a nurse, ran a foster care facility, and investigators say they believe many of the victims were under his care. His wife is not a suspect in the case. Ponce, 50, remains jailed in Wayne Brown Correctional Facility in Nevada County in lieu of $2 million bail.

The mother of Ponce's victim sobbed into her hands Wednesday as she reluctantly watched about a minute of the seven-minute video of Ponce abusing her 1-year-old girl, according to the Union newspaper in Grass Valley. Ponce taped the video himself about six years ago, and now the tapes are being used as evidence.

Authorities chose to prosecute Ponce first in Nevada County because the charges he faces there are more serious.

Nevada County District Attorney Cliff Newell said Ponce could face up to 135 years if he's convicted of all the charges against him there.

Ponce is charged with eight counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child involving oral copulation, one count of aggravated sexual assault of a child, four counts of a forcible lewd act on a child and three counts of sexual penetration by a foreign object when the victim is unconscious of the nature of the act. The trial could conclude as early as today.

Alameda County Prosecutor John Creighton said the outcome of Ponce's trial will determine if a trial will be held in Alameda County."

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Saturday, May 19, 2007