Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: 01/31/08

Contact person(s):

Media Coordinator, Donna Edwards - 565-3099 Media Spokesperson, Assistant District Attorney Christine Cook

Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, California

JURY CONVICTS REGISTERED SEX OFFENDER OF
MOLESTING HIS TWO STEPDAUGHTERS

District Attorney Stephan Passalacqua announced today that a Sonoma County jury convicted defendant Carl Albert Skidmore of nine different charges relating to sex crimes committed against his two stepdaughters. The jury convicted the defendant of four counts of rape, one count of forcible sexual penetration, and one count of forcible lewd act on a child under the age of 14, all relating to the older of his two stepdaughters. The jury also convicted the defendant of three counts of lewd and lascivious conduct against the younger of his two stepdaughters. The defendant had previously been convicted committed a similar crime against a stepdaughter from a previous marriage.

On March 2, 2005, the victims reported to family and to law enforcement that the defendant had been molesting them for some period of time. The older victim, then age 14, reported that the defendant had been molesting her since she was 12 years old. She reported that the defendant began having regular intercourse with her at age 13. She reported that the defendant used psychological coercion, bribes, and fear to induce her to comply with his demands. The younger victim, then age 11, reported that the defendant had started molesting her three months before her disclosure. DNA evidence provided conclusive evidence of the defendant’s sexual contact with the girls. The jury also heard evidence relating to Defendant’s prior conviction for committing lewd and lascivious conduct on a minor, relating to the molestation of his other stepdaughter in 1985.

The defendant faces a life sentence in state prison. He will be sentenced on March 19, 2008 at 1:30 p.m. before the Honorable Renee Chouteau. The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Carla Rodriguez, who was assisted by DA Investigator Kris Allen. Detective Brad Conners, was the lead investigator for the Santa Rosa Police Department in this case.