A former bicycle motocross coach was convicted Monday, March 1, of sexually assaulting three boys and exchanging child pornography on the internet.
Orange County Superior Court Judge Michael J. Cassidy ruled that Mandak Kohn Griffin is guilty of 13 felony charges, including possession of child pornography and lewd acts upon a child along with other sexual-assault related charges.
The judge found that Griffin, now 40, sexually assaulted multiple victims and had substantial sexual conduct with a child. Griffin, a Cypress resident, faces up to 85 years to life in prison.
Prosecutors at the time criminal charges were filed against Griffin in 2011 alleged that he befriended neighborhood boys – some younger than 10 years old – and invited them to his house to hang out and look at pornographic movies and magazines.
During closing arguments in the trial last week, Deputy District Attorney Ann Fawaz told the judge that at least one of the boys “practically lived” at Griffin’s home.
Griffin’s attorney, Cameron Talley, did not deny that his client had child pornography or had taken explicit photographs of at least one of the boys. But the defense attorney said there was no evidence that Griffin had sex with any of them.
Griffin opted for a bench trial, in which his guilt was decided by the judge rather than a jury. During his closing arguments, Talley noted that jurors would likely have seen the explicit material that Griffin possessed and then “folded their arms and said, ‘I’m done.’ “
Griffin was in Orange County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail, according to Orange County Sheriff’s Department records. He is scheduled to return to court for sentencing on April 9.
