Ex-hospital chief pleads not guilty in molest case

The Associated Press

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- The former head of one of California's largest state mental hospitals reiterated his not guilty plea Tuesday to charges of molesting his adopted son over more than a decade.

Claude Foulk, 62, entered the plea to 35 counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child. If convicted of all the counts, he could face a maximum of 280 years in prison.

Prosecutors claim the molestation began in 1992 and involved a 9-year-old boy who was Foulk's foster child before becoming his adopted son.

Foulk was director of Napa State Hospital until he was fired in February following his arrest. He also pleaded not guilty at an arraignment.

Foulk was previously ordered to stand trial after a preliminary hearing in which the adopted son, now 27, and two other men testified they were sexually abused by Foulk when they were children.

Authorities contend 13 men, including another of Foulk's four foster sons, came forward to claim Foulk molested them as children as far back as 1965. However, only one of the cases could be prosecuted due to the statute of limitations.

Foulk's attorney Richard Poland has said his client denies that any of the alleged molestations occurred.

Deputy District Attorney Danette Gomez said she would show Foulk preyed on the emotional vulnerabilities of his adopted son who had been through numerous foster homes.

A pretrial hearing was set for June 11.