Molester mulling plea to new charges

Prosecutors have offered Green a plea bargain offer which he has until next Tuesday to accept. If convicted by a jury, he faces up to a decade in prison because of his prior conviction. Ventura County officials could also charge Green for being more than a year out of compliance with mandatory sex offender registration rules.

Prosecutor Elizabeth Raffaelli did not detail the specifics of the plea bargain offer but said it is both "substantial" and "totally fair." If Green accepts, he will not be hit with a second strike, Raffaelli said.

"If he goes to trial he is opening himself up to a lot more exposure sentence-wise," Raffaelli said. "We're just hopeful he is ready to stand up and do the right thing."

Green was scheduled to announce his decision yesterday but defense attorney David Bigeleisen postponed it due to a family emergency.

Green stayed at a San Mateo hotel while on a business trip Jan. 17. While in the hotel Jacuzzi, he touched the boy in a sexual way and the boy fled, prosecutors said. The police were notified and Green arrested. After being taken into custody, Green was discovered to have a 1989 conviction for committing a lewd act on a child in San Diego County.

Prior to the San Diego County offense, Green has a lengthy criminal history comprised mainly of misdemeanor charges similar to the ones he now faces, said Cmdr. Bill Ahern of the San Mateo Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement Task Force. Green is not listed in the Megan's Law database of California sex offenders.

Following his arrest, Green's laptop was seized by forensic investigators seeking child pornography or other incriminating evidence. Raffaelli never released whether anything substantial was found.

Green is free from custody on $300,000 cash bail.

Michelle Durand can be reached by e-mail: michelle@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 104. What do you think of this story? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.