LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The sentencing of a Clearlake man convicted this spring of five felony counts related to the alleged molestation of his stepdaughter has been delayed in the wake of his hiring a new attorney and possibly seeking a new trial.
In May a jury found Christopher Adam Sanders, 30, guilty of committing a lewd act with a child, two counts of lewd act with a child by duress, continuous sexual abuse of a child and statutory rape, as Lake County News has reported.
According to the evidence presented against Sanders, he was alleged to have begun sexually assaulting his stepdaughter in the summer of 2005, when she was 11 years old.
The molestation allegedly continued for three years, ending in December 2008. Sanders was arrested the following month, the District Attorney's Office reported.
Sanders, who the District Attorney's Office said was facing up to 35 years in prison for the convictions, was due to be sentenced on July 1, which then was delayed until Aug. 16. However, that date, too, was canceled.
Prosecutor Ed Borg said the delays resulted from Sanders dismissing his attorney, Chris Andrian of Santa Rosa, and hiring Lakeport attorney Mitch Hauptman to look at seeking a new trial under Penal Code section 1181.
That penal code section allows a new trial request based on several factors, among them several kinds of juror misconduct, including the jury reaching a verdict contrary to law or evidence, unfair deliberations and the jury receiving evidence out of court, as well as the discovery of new evidence and errors by the trial court.
Borg said a motion for a new trial is not common, although he wouldn't necessarily call it unusual, as there exists the statutory right for a defendant to make such a motion. He added that it could take Hauptman some time – several weeks – to weigh such an option.
Hauptman confirmed to Lake County News on Wednesday that he had been hired by Sanders, and that he was considering filing a motion on Sanders' behalf seeking a new trial.
Borg had said the case's next court date is Sept. 13, at which time the court would choose either a date to deal with a new trial motion or set a new sentencing date, but Hauptman said Wednesday that at this point he wasn't sure what might be up for consideration on that date.
Sanders remains in the Lake County Jail.
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