Man, 96, held in lieu of $1 million on molestation charges

A 96-year-old Orange County man is expected to appear in court this week on charges that he molested two children and removed his adult diaper to expose himself, authorities said.

Kenneth Leroy Collins is set to be arraigned Friday on four felony counts of lewd acts with a child under the age of 14 stemming from offenses that occurred between January and February at his home, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office.

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Collins was arrested after Child Protective Services contacted investigators Feb. 24 about a possible sexual relationship between him and two girls in Laguna Woods, said Lt. Mark Stichter, spokesman of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. Collins knew the children through his wife, he said.

Detectives went to a south Orange County school, where they conducted an investigation and determined there had been a sexual relationship, he said.

Prosecutors said Collins sexually assaulted a 10-year-old and 11-year-old girl.

At some point, Collins took off his adult diapers and touched himself in front of the girls, prosecutors said.

Collins was arrested on Feb. 25 and has been cooperating with police, he said.

Collins is being held in lieu of $1 million bail in the sheriff’s Theo Lacy Facility. He appears to be one of the oldest inmates recently housed in the county’s jail system, Stichter said.

If Collins is convicted of the charges, he faces up to 60 years in state prison, prosecutors said.

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