O.C. Judge Accused of Child Molesting

An Orange County judge already under house arrest for allegedly possessing child pornography was arrested again Thursday and charged with molesting a 12-year-old boy nearly a quarter-century ago.

Local authorities accuse Superior Court Judge Ronald C. Kline, 61, of befriending the youngster, who lived in his Irvine neighborhood, and sexually abusing him at least four times between 1976 and 1978. Kline was a prominent civil attorney at the time.

In 1980, without knowing about their son’s alleged contact with Kline, the boy’s parents filed a stalking complaint against Kline after noticing him driving slowly past the house, police said. No charges were ever filed as a result of the complaint.

Police said the accuser, now 37, told investigators about the sexual abuse this month after learning from news reports that the judge faces federal charges of storing more than 100 illegal pornographic images on computer.

Kline’s attorney, Paul S. Meyer, said his client intends to plead not guilty to the molestation charges at a Feb. 6 arraignment.

“The allegation is untrue,” Meyer said. “The historical charges . . . are from 26 years ago and involve one complaining person.”

The latest charges set up a highly unusual judicial election in March. The judge remains a candidate for reelection even though he is confined to his home. Kline is running unopposed on the ballot, though eight people have announced they will be write-in challengers.

Write-in candidates rarely win elections. And if Kline wins the election, he would remain on paid leave--drawing on his $136,244 annual salary--until his criminal cases are resolved or the state Commission on Judicial Performance disciplines him.

Kline surrendered to Irvine police at 7 a.m. Thursday. He posted bail of $100,000 and returned to his Irvine home, where he has remained under federal house arrest since a federal grand jury indicted him on the pornography possession charges in November.

The latest allegations are the most serious leveled against Kline, who pleaded not guilty to the pornography charges. The accusations have left the judge’s former colleagues in shock, including the man now supervising his prosecution.

“This is someone who I felt I knew and had a friendship with, so it’s sad,” said Tony Rackauckas, who worked alongside Kline as a judge before becoming district attorney three years ago.

Authorities said they interviewed the alleged molestation victim and have independently corroborated that Kline knew him at the time of the alleged molestation. His name is being withheld even though he is now an adult.

The accuser’s parents told police more than two decades ago that Kline was stalking their son, according to court records filed by prosecutors. Nothing then could be done about the complaint because there was no specific law against stalking at the time, said Irvine Police Lt. Sam Allevato.

The stalking report was destroyed years ago during a routine purging of old records, Allevato said.

Court records indicate that Kline vacationed with the accuser in December 1982, after he had turned 18. In a letter he sent to the boy before the vacation, Kline wrote that he had one request--that he “please not bring pajamas.”

A diary written on the judge’s home computer made references to the judge’s attraction to young boys, including a 2000 entry naming the accuser, the records said. Entries dated last year referred to attempts by Kline to find the accuser and to include him as an heir in the judge’s will, according to the court records.

Police said the accuser remained silent about the abuse until 1995, when he told his parents and fiance. He insisted then, however, that he did not want to report the matter to police, court records show.

But authorities said he changed his mind after learning of Kline’s recent federal indictment.

Kline now faces four felony counts accusing him of committing lewd acts on a child under 14--charges that carry a maximum of 14 years in prison.

State law allows prosecution of child molestation cases even when victims come forward years after the crimes were committed. Under the law, prosecutors must file charges within one year of a complaint being made.

If Kline wins reelection in March, his future as a judge will rest on the outcome of his court cases. If he pleads guilty or is convicted of a felony, the state’s Commission on Judicial Performance will suspend him without pay, commission officials said.

If an appeals court overturns the conviction, Kline will be reinstated and paid back pay for the time on suspension. If, however, Kline’s appeals are rejected, the commission will remove him permanently from the bench.

The last time the commission removed a judge because of a criminal conviction was in 1990, when Beverly Hills Municipal Judge Charles Boags was fired, said commission Director Victoria Henley.

Boags had been convicted of obstruction of justice in 1988 for improperly suspending fines on parking tickets issued to his son and his son’s friends.