By Queenie Wong
qwong@sacbee.com
A 43-year-old Woodland man has been convicted on 11 felony counts of child molestation against his 11-year-old stepdaughter, but claimed during the trial that a cyst on his brain and Lyme disease caused him to lose control of his impulses, according to the Yolo County District Attorney's office.
Eric Franklin Sass faces a maximum sentence of 28 years in state prison for molesting his stepdaughter when she was between 8 years old and 10 years old. A Yolo County jury convicted Sass Tuesday on eleven felony counts of child molestation and one count of lewd and obscene conduct.
The jury also found that he engaged in "substantial sexual conduct" when he molested her, according to the news release.
"The verdict reflects the commitment of the jury to perform their civic duty in a serious case, and also demonstrates their ability to critically evaluate the medical and psychiatric evidence they were presented with," said Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig in a statement.
But Sass claimed during the trail that a cyst on his brain and Lyme disease caused him to molest his stepdaughter. A neurologist and neuropsychologist, called by the defense, told the jury that Sass did not willfully molest his stepdaughter.
To rebut the defense's claims, the prosecution called forensic psychiatrist Jason Roof from the UC Davis Medical Center to testify in the trial. Roof said that Sass did not exhibit any behaviors to suggest he had an impulse control disorder.
The District Attorney's office said that Sass molested his stepdaughter for two years before she told her mother. When the mom confronted Sass, he admitted to molesting his stepdaughter. The stepdaughter told a child interview specialist at the Yolo County Multi-Disciplinary Interview Center that she didn't report the molestation immediately because Sass told her that he would go to jail if he told the police. The victim also testified at trial about several incidents when Sass molested her.
Sass is expected to be sentenced by Judge Timothy L. Fall on Jan. 6. The case was previously tried in July, but the judge declared a mistrial after a jury could not reach a unanimous verdict.
Call The Bee's Queenie Wong, (916) 321-1008.
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