SACRAMENTO, CA - The case of an elementary school principal accused of molesting students at his private Citrus Heights school made its way to court Thursday afternoon.
Creative Frontiers Elementary School principal Robert Adams is accused of molesting seven girls while they were students. From the types of questions Adams' defense attorney was asking of the first witness at the preliminary hearing, it appeared she may preparing a defense claiming a conspiracy among the victims' parents.
In court, attorney Linda Parisi said the mothers of the first two victims who reported the molestation had received letters from Creative Frontiers asking for past tuition owed just days before the women contacted police.
"Well, I certainly think there's information that raises the question of the motivation of these parents," said Parisi during a break in proceedings.
The first witness to testify was Sgt. William Bayless, a Sacramento County sheriff's patrol deputy who took the first report from the mothers of the first two victims.
Bayless was called to the home of one mother on June 16, 2000. The mother claimed her daughter became upset after seeing a photo advertisement for Creative Frontiers School and told her mother she was molested by Adams when she was 6 and 7 years old.
Both mothers said their daughters told them Adams would make them sit on his lap while in his office and he would rub their stomachs and chests underneath their clothes.
Parisi asked Bayless if he knew that both mothers received letters from Creative Frontiers asking for past tuition they owed. He said he did not.
Bayless went on to testify the two girls claimed the molestation occurred in Adams' office and sometimes teachers and school staff members were not far away.
Adams faces six felony child molestation charges and one misdemeanor. He pled not guilty.
News10/KXTV