The suspected victim in the misdemeanor molestation case against
hospital Board Member Ernest D. Rivas alleged to investigators that
he kissed the teenager and put his tongue in her mouth while on a
July motorcycle ride in Tres Pinos, according to a report summary
released today by the Hollister Police Department.
The suspected victim in the misdemeanor molestation case against hospital Board Member Ernest D. Rivas alleged to investigators that he kissed the teenager and put his tongue in her mouth while on a July motorcycle ride in Tres Pinos, according to a report summary released today by the Hollister Police Department.
Police divulged the information in response to a public records request from the Free Lance.
To this point, the only description of the accusation made public had been a criminal complaint in court records alleging he kissed a 16-year-old girl.
Rivas, 58, is scheduled for a trial April 12 at the San Benito County Courthouse on a charge alleging annoying or molesting a child under 18. He is accused of kissing the 16-year-old girl July 16 and was arrested by the police department in August.
He had been prepared earlier this month to accept a plea deal for a conviction on a lesser battery charge. That did not occur, however, as the prosecution and defense could not agree on terms.
Rivas, elected in November 2008, has remained on the San Benito Health Care District board since his arrest. He has declined to comment on the situation.
The police department before today had declined to further discuss the case’s circumstances, but Police Chief Jeff Miller released the summary of the case report with incident and suspect information while excluding identifying information about the alleging victim, as required under the California Public Records Act and in response to the newspaper’s request.
That one-page summary with brief, categorized notations alleges that the incident occurred at 1 p.m. July 16 on Quien Sabe Road in Tres Pinos. Under “Circumstances of Incident” in the summary, it notes the following: “Victim alleges that while on a motorcycle ride, the suspect kissed her and put his tongue in her mouth.”
According to the document, it was reported to police at 8:33 p.m. July 19. Officers obtained a warrant and arrested Rivas at 9:15 p.m. July 23 in the first block of Monterey Street in San Juan Bautista, according to the document.
Rivas was booked into the county jail and released after paying bail of $5,000.
Rivas’ trial is scheduled to last three to four days. If convicted, he could spend up to a year in jail and face a fine of up to $5,000.
Look back for more on this story.
