News In Brief
| Los Angeles
Conspiracy now alleged in L.A. preschool case
The founder of a Manhattan Beach preschool and six other defendants have been charged with molesting 26 more youngsters in an amended complaint adding 93 more counts.
For the first time, prosecutors stated that the defendants conspired to molest the children. The complaint also specifically charged that they used ''force or fear'' to carry out a conspiracy.
The new complaint filed Wednesday supersedes a March county grand jury indictment that charged the seven with 115 instances of molestation and listed 18 pupils at the Manhattan Beach nursery school as victims.
A total of 42 children have now been listed as victims in 208 instances of molestation. Two youngsters named in the earlier indictment were dropped in the complaint.
Municipal Judge Michael Tynan sealed the new complaint to protect the identity of the juvenile victims.
