Apr 9, 2008 8:31 pm US/Pacific
Babysitter Convicted Of Lewd Acts On Boy, 6
LAGUNA NIGUEL
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Scott Andrew Christensen, 24, was convicted Wednesday of committing lewd acts on a boy, 6.
CBS
The parents and kids at an afterschool program liked Scott Andrew Christensen so much that parents trusted him to babysit their kids.
But, according to a jury, Christensen abused that trust, as well as at least one of his charges, specifically a 6-year-old boy who testified that Christensen committed lewd acts on him at the babysitter's home.
A jury deadlocked on similar charges centering on a boy in the after-school program.
Christensen, 24, had been free on $1 million bail since his arrest in August 2006 when he was charged with four counts of lewd acts with
two 6-year-old boys.
Superior Court Judge Gary Paer ordered Christensen taken into custody after the convictions on the two counts. When sentenced, Christensen faces up to 10 years behind bars, said defense attorney Gary Pohlson.
Sentencing was set for May 29.
Both boys, now 8 years old, testified in open court.
Christensen was employed for six years as a child care leader at the
Learning Connection, an after-school day care program hosted by the Saddleback Valley Unified School District at elementary schools in Southern California, said Susan Schroeder of the Orange County District Attorney's Office.
Christensen was arrested Aug. 8, 2006, on two counts of molesting a 6-
year-old he met through his job at The Learning Connection at Melinda Heights Elementary School in Rancho Santa Margarita.
Christensen allegedly molested the child in his Rancho Santa Margarita
home between May 1, 2006 and Aug. 7, 2006, after being hired as a private babysitter.
Pohlson said both cases were "very dissimilar." He conceded that certain acts had occurred with the boy Christensen watched in his home, but denied those involving the second boy, saying they could not have occurred, given the lay-out at the school.
The mother of the first boy said she had no reason to mistrust Christensen because he worked at the day care center. However, her son eventually told her that Christensen allegedly "did something bad" to him, she said.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
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