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A judge in Los Angeles postponed a court appearance for Hawaii entertainer Cecilio Rodriguez, who was arrested last month for allegedly committing a lewd and lascivious act against two minor girls 15 years ago.
Rodriguez, 66, had been scheduled to appear in Compton Municipal Court Thursday morning to enter a plea and set a date for his arraignment. But Rodriguez requested a continuance after hiring a new defense attorney until Nov. 16. The judge granted the continuance, the Los Angeles prosecutor’s office said.
According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Rodriguez was arrested Sept. 27. Rodriguez, of the group Cecilio & Kapono, had just finished a concert tour in Redondo Beach.
He was freed on $200,000 bail on Oct. 1.
The entertainer allegedly committed sex crimes against two sisters who were both under age 14 at the time. The two-count felony complaint against Rodriguez said one offense occurred between Nov. 6, 1997, and Nov. 5, 1999. The second occurred with another girl between May 6, 1996, and May 5, 1998.
The Sheriff’s Department said the allegations of sexual abuse were not revealed until earlier this year when the father of one of the women asked her to deliver a package to Rodriguez’s home in Hawaii. The victim then told her father of the abuse by Rodriguez.
Under the two charges, Rodriguez faces a maximum prison term of 10 years.
Rodriguez was convicted of attempted sexual assault 17 years ago in Hawaii County. He pleaded no contest to attempted second-degree sexual assault in 1994 and was sentenced to one year in jail, 500 hours of community service and mandatory participation in a sex-offender treatment program.
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