|
|
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
by Mark Armstrong Jun 29, 2001, 11:30 AM PT Prosecutors are remaining mum about the child-molestation allegations against Paula Poundstone, but a children's services agency official has confirmed that the alleged victims are her adoptive and foster children. The 41-year-old funnywoman will be arraigned July 27 in Santa Monica Superior Court, facing felony charges of committing lewd acts on a girl under 14 and with child endangerment on two boys and two girls. But for now, prosecutors aren't saying much else. The comedian's lawyer expressed frustration with authorities on Thursday, calling the charges "beyond belief" and saying Poundstone still hasn't been told anything specific about the allegations.
"For reasons we don't yet understand, the Santa Monica Police Department and the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office launched an investigation of Paula several weeks ago," said her lawyer, Steven Cron, in a statement. "Paula and I were cooperating with this investigation--and continued to do so right up to the date of her arrest. "As a result, we are shocked and disappointed by the sudden and inexplicable decision to take her into custody," he added. "The District Attorney's Office has not yet disclosed to us any of the details of the allegations against Paula. Nonetheless, we are confident she has done nothing wrong." Meanwhile, the director of Los Angeles County's Department of Children and Family Services told the Los Angeles Times that the charges do involve the children living with her, and the investigation is continuing. "There's just not a whole lot we can divulge," director Anita Bock told the Times. "But I will say this: At this point, Paula Poundstone has to be considered innocent until otherwise proven." Prosecutors, meanwhile, would confirm nothing Friday about the alleged victims. "We're not going to comment," says District Attorney spokeswoman Jane Robison. "We're trying to do everything we can to protect the kids." Poundstone had three adopted children and two foster children in her charge--ranging in age from 2 to 12--but all have been taken away and put into foster homes. The comedian, who's been a regular on syndicated TV versions of To Tell the Truth and Hollywood Squares, was arrested Wednesday and released from Santa Monica jail four hours later on $200,000 bail. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 13 years in state prison. Prosecutors say Poundstone allegedly committed the lewd acts on three separate occasions: May 19, June 5 and June 6. The child-endangerment incident also allegedly occurred June 6. The Department of Children and Family Services began its investigation after receiving a report of the May 19 incident. Following her arrest, Poundstone told reporters she "has faith that the truth is the right thing," and her lawyer also vehemently denied the charges. "The idea that Paula could have possibly mistreated any of the children in her care is beyond belief," Cron said. "As those who know her can attest, she is a committed, nurturing mother who has taken in numerous foster children--three of whom she adopted--and given them all both a loving home and a new lease on life. "We are confident that when all the facts are known, she will be completely exonerated," he said.
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
