Family of girl allegedly molested by Clovis teacher gets attorney

By Pablo Lopez and John Ellis / The Fresno Bee

02/10/12 01:41:23

The family of the girl Clovis schoolteacher Neng Yang is accused of molesting has retained Fresno attorney Warren Paboojian.

"We're all hoping this little girl gets justice," Paboojian said Thursday.

He said the family appreciates the outpouring of support from the public.

"Through this tragedy, the family hopes the publicity will help other children who may be victims to come forward and talk with police," Paboojian said.

Also Thursday, a federal grand jury in Fresno handed up a four-count indictment charging Yang, 44, with producing child pornography.

Yang was arrested last month by federal officials on a single count of producing child pornography. Authorities say Yang recorded the sexual abuse of one of his students.

The second-grade teacher at Freedom Elementary School was then arrested and charged in Fresno County Superior Court with 45 counts of child molestation that covered last Dec. 8 and 16 and Jan. 12 and 26 of this year. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

Thursday's grand-jury indictment is four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor -- the technical term for producing child pornography. It alleges Yang used his cellphone and an external hard drive to record and store videos depicting the sexual abuse on four different occasions that are the same dates included in the Superior Court charges.

In addition to the criminal charges, the indictment also contains a "forfeiture allegation," in which federal prosecutors are seeking to take the Apple iPhone and the hard drive that Yang used in the alleged crimes.

The indictment eliminates the need for a federal preliminary hearing, which was scheduled for Monday. Yang is now scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara A. McAuliffe in Fresno.

If convicted on the federal charges, Yang faces a mandatory prison term of at least 15 years, with the possibility of up to 30 years, on each count. There is also the possibility of a $250,000 fine for each count.


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