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January 25, 2005
Judge Sets Bond For Former Fugitive Accused Of Molesting Child
Police Arrest Daniel Farinholt After Nearly 3-Year Search
LOS ANGELES -- A judge Monday set bond at $500,000 for the man accused of molesting a child and hiding from authorities for nearly three years.
Daniel Farinholt remains in Orange County Jail. He pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of child molestation and sexual abuse.
Farinholt, formerly an executive vice president of a large computer company in El Segundo, was taken into custody in Boise, where he was working for Hewlett-Packard.
Farinholt, who had reportedly been using the name Donald Dudley, was identified after being featured on the television series "America's Most Wanted." The tipster reportedly remained anonymous.
Farinholt was arrested on a $200,000 warrant stemming from a criminal case filed in March 2002, alleging three counts of child molestation and one felony count of continual sexual abuse of a girl under 13. The alleged child abuse occurred in Lake Forest, where Farinholt lived with a wife and children.
Farinholt made a preliminary court appearance on April 15 of that year and was granted a bond reduction to $100,000. He then failed to show up for a May 23, 2002, court appearance.
The following day, he made "a weak attempt" to stage his own death by abandoning his 1997 BMW at an El Segundo beach and smearing his blood on his boat, "Reel'n and Rock'n," which was about 100 yards offshore, police said. Farinholt had reportedly hoped to get investigators to believe he had either committed suicide or been the victim of a homicide, but it was too small an amount of blood to be believable, police said
Authorities had since tracked Farinholt to Texas and Colorado, among other places.
Farinholt is scheduled to return to court Feb. 4 for a pre-trial hearing.
Posted by Nealus at January 25, 2005 01:32 PM
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