SAN BERNARDINO (CA)
San Bernardino County Sun
By JOE NELSON, Staff Writer
A former San Bernardino church pastor was found not guilty Monday in San Bernardino Superior Court on one count of child molestation, while his jury deadlocked on another identical count.
John Molia, 69, of San Bernardino will return to court Jan. 26 to find out if prosecutors will dismiss the remaining charge or go to bat.
Deputy District Attorney Jane Templeton, who prosecuted Molia, was out of the office Monday and not present when the jury returned with its verdict after four days of deliberations. Supervising Deputy District Attorney Dwight Moore filled in.
It was unclear Monday if county prosecutors will proceed with the case.
Molia was charged in March 2003 with two counts of lewd acts on a child for the alleged molestations of two sisters, now 20 and 22, between October 1991 and October 1997. The sisters were members of Molia's Samoan congregation at the Revived Samoan Assembly of God in San Bernardino and also close family friends.