12 felony counts filed against Medrano

By Larry Altman Staff Writer
Article Launched: 03/15/2008 12:25:20 AM PDT

Prosecutors on Friday filed 12 felony counts against former Gardena City Councilman Oscar Medrano, charging he sexually abused a relative from the time she was in elementary school to high school.

For years, Medrano forced the girl to engage in sexual acts, it is alleged. It began with touching when she was about 8 years old, but escalated to sexual activity when she was 10, a source told the Daily Breeze.

"He manipulated her, and told her she wasn't good for anything else but sex - that nobody would ever love her, and therefore, he kept abusing her," said the source, who is familiar with the victim.

The alleged crimes occurred almost weekly, sometimes in the shower and in a motel, the source said.

Medrano, 47, is scheduled to be arraigned Monday at the Torrance courthouse. He remained in jail Friday after his bail was raised to $960,000.

Medrano faces eight counts of lewd acts upon a child under 14, one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, and three counts of committing a lewd act upon a child 14 or 15 years old. The last count relates to an incident that allegedly occurred when she was 15 years old. The first nine counts also allege that the acts committed were of substantial sexual conduct, prosecutors said.

If convicted, Medrano could face 32 years in prison, and would be required to register as a sex offender upon his release, Deputy District Attorney Beatriz Dieringer said.
Sheriff's Department investigators have not released details of the abuse and declined to comment for this article.

The Daily Breeze knows the girl's name, her relationship to Medrano, and specifics about the alleged abuse, but is omitting information that can identify her.

In an interview, a source said the victim had tried for years to get someone to believe that Medrano sexually assaulted her.

Nobody listened until recently.

As late as a few months ago, the victim believed no one would trust her story because Medrano's cousin is Gardena Police Chief Ed Medrano and would take his side, the source said.

Detectives at the sheriff's Special Victims Bureau stepped in when someone reported the case to a police officer.

Medrano abruptly resigned from the Gardena City Council on Tuesday night, citing a bad back that made it difficult to sit or work. He was arrested two days later at his family's jewelry store in downtown Gardena.