Riverside

Temecula Man Found Guilty of Molesting Stepdaughter

A Temecula man who molested his 6-year-old stepdaughter repeatedly while her mother was at work was convicted Thursday of felony sexual assault charges.

After deliberating one day, a Murrieta jury found 51 year-old Dana Leon Wilber guilty of two counts each of lewd acts on a minor and copulation of a child under 10 years old.

Wilber is facing life in prison with the possibility of parole.

Riverside County Superior Court Judge Elaine Kiefer scheduled a sentencing hearing for Oct. 12 at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta.

According to the District Attorney's Office, Wilber married the victim's mother in March 2017, and the acts of molestation began almost immediately afterward.

Deputy District Attorney Ed Jensen said in a trial brief that the mother had a full-time job and would leave her daughter with the defendant for hours at a time. According to the prosecutor, Wilber would pour honey or put lime spray on his genitals and instruct the victim to lick or suck it off.

In October 2017, the girl revealed to her mother what had transpired, prompting her to contact the sheriff's department. According to Jensen, when Wilber was confronted by detectives, he dismissed the encounters with his stepdaughter as innocent "horse play."

The defendant claimed the girl "would flaunt herself in front of him," according to a trial brief. "He also claimed that this 6-year-old girl would flash him, and he would tell her to cover up."

The prosecution alleged that the girl's cousin was with her and Wilber on several occasions at the defendant's residence in the 30000 block of Colina Verde, and each time, Wilber found a reason to fondle the boy's behind.

Wilber was not charged with offenses related to the boy.

The defendant was taken into custody without incident at his workplace on Magnolia Avenue in Riverside last Oct. 25 and is being held without bail at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta. He had no documented prior felony convictions.

Copyright CNS - City News Service
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