A California businessman pleaded no contest to statutory rape of a 5-year-old girl Wednesday, and, as part of a negotiated deal with the San Joaquin County Superior Court, was sentenced to 90 days house arrest and will not have to register as a sex offender.
Lyle Burgess, 79, of Stockton, sexually assaulted the girl, who is now 7, after her family was invited to his Calaveras County cabin in 2016, the family's attorney told KTXL.
"They trusted this man, he was a family friend, and he took advantage of them," family attorney Ken Meleyco told KTXL.
Burgess, who founded an automotive parts manufacturing and distributing company, maintains his innocence, his attorney told the Stockton Record.
"I believe the allegations are motivated by greed. They are using this instance to try to gain financially," Burgess' attorney Gregory Davenport told the Stockton Record.
The parents have filed a civil suit against Burgess seeking unspecified damages, according to the Stockton Record.
"The girl is not doing good," Meleyco told KTXL. "She's showing all the symptoms of somebody who's been molested. She's in counseling, and she's gonna be in counseling all her life."
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