Contractor Faces Molestation Charges
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A Ventura contractor is scheduled to be arraigned in early September on charges that he molested three boys over a four-year period, starting when one of the boys was 13, prosecutors said Friday.
Douglas Muelder, president of California Land Clearing in Ventura, is set to come before a Ventura County Municipal Court judge Sept. 4 on charges that he sexually assaulted three children starting in 1984, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Jacqueline Wise.
The charges were filed earlier this summer after one of the victims--now 25--reported the crimes to Ventura Police Department investigators, Wise said.
Charges regarding the other two individuals were filed Thursday.
Although the six-year statute of limitations has run out on the charges, Wise said a recent state law allows for exceptions if the molestation is deemed significant and if there is evidence to corroborate the charges.
Muelder is accused of oral copulation and sodomy against the youths, in incidents that occurred over several years.
The arraignment, originally set for Thursday, was continued two weeks to allow Muelder’s attorney, Jay Johnson, time to review the charges.
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