Foster City karate instructor suspected of molesting girl,13
By Mike Rosenberg
Daily News Staff Writer
Posted: 03/04/2009 11:28:33 PM PST
A 20-year-old martial arts instructor from Foster City was charged Wednesday with molesting a 13-year-old girl he met through a karate school, authorities said.
San Carlos police said they arrested Brendyn Crispell on Monday after he admitted to performing a sexual act on the girl in a car parked on the 900 block of McCue Avenue. Officers were initially called to the scene about 6:50 p.m. because the vehicle had been reported as suspicious.
Crispell was arrested on suspicion of lewd acts with a child under 14 and oral copulation with a person under 18. San Mateo County prosecutors then used police investigations to charge him on Wednesday with a total of four felony counts of child molestation, two of them stemming from incidents prior to his arrest Monday, said Assistant District Attorney Karen Guidotti.
San Carlos police on Monday found a container of Vaseline and two stuffed animals in Crispell's Honda station wagon, said police Cmdr. Rich Cinfio. Investigators did not know Wednesday who the stuffed animals belonged to or why they were in the car.
Cinfio said Crispell and the girl met each other through a karate school. He said Crispell is a martial arts instructor, but did not disclose the school's location or whether the victim was one of Crispell's students. Cinfio also declined to identify her city of residence.
Cinfio said investigators believe Crispell and the girl knew each other for about four years, and the sexual relationship "was ongoing to some degree" for about four months. There is no evidence the victim was being held against her will during their relationship, he said.
After obtaining a search warrant, police searched Crispell's home on Tuesday and seized his computer and other items, police said. According to Cinfio, a forensic analysis of the computer is pending but there appeared to be no immediate evidence of child pornography on the machine.
Investigators were uncertain Wednesday whether the victim's parents knew about her relationship with Crispell, Cinfio said.
Mike Devoy, Crispell's attorney, did not immediately return calls seeking comment Wednesday.
Crispell's bail has been set at $100,000. He is set to enter a plea in San Mateo County Superior Court on March 11.