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Sentencing of man who molested adopted siblings delayed again

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JORGE BARRIENTOS

The Bakersfield Californian

A new attorney was asked to step in Wednesday morning to review the case of a convicted child abuser, delaying the three-year-old case longer and frustrating the victim's family and prosecutor.

Justin James Erbacher, 24, was scheduled to be potentially sentenced Wednesday. He was found guilty in August of nine felony counts, including continuous sexual abuse of the girls and sodomy of a victim under 14 years old.

But Judge Lee P. Felice relieved attorney Mike Webb and ordered another lawyer — not yet named — to review about eight boxes filled with hundreds of case documents and trial transcripts.

The attorney’s task is to determine if Webb was effective in defending Erbacher. It’s possible the judge could grant a new trial.

Webb said he does not take Erbacher’s decision personally, even though his office “put a tremendous amount of work into the case.”

“I believe the defendant should have a right to defend issues he feels he must raise,” Webb said. “That’s his right.”

Prosecutor Kimberly Marshall was disappointed with the delay in the case.

“We just brought him happiness. Look at him smiling,” Marshall told the victim’s family sitting in court.

Outside of the courtroom, Marshall told reporters, “The family needs closure. In this case they haven't brought it. It's another tactic to delay the case.”

Erbacher is said to have molested four young girls, including three adoptive siblings.

The case that started in early 2006 has been a long and complicated one.

Last month, he was scheduled to be sentenced, but Erbacher asked for a new lawyer. A month before that, Superior Court Judge Louis P. Etcheverry ruled that the recanted testimony of three of the girls was not credible, and denied him a new trial.

Erbacher's father, Steve Erbacher, was also accused of molesting the girls, but he committed suicide in 2006 the same day police were preparing to confront him.

Erbacher faces up to 119 years to life in prison. His next court date is scheduled for March 18.

2009 Mar 4