Jury to Decide Fate of 20-year-old FV Case of Man Accused of Exposing Self to Child

Deliberations began today in the trial of a man charged with exposing himself to the 11-year-old daughter of a colleague in a case that took two decades to go before a jury because the defendant left the country before his arrest.

Luther Pete Haynes, 62, faces up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted of child annoyance. Prosecutors filed the felony count against him because he has two prior convictions for lewd acts on victims younger than 14, according to Deputy District Attorney Kristin Bracic.

Haynes is accused of exposing himself to the girl -- whose father worked with him at a San Clemente-based paleontology firm -- while taking photos of her in Fountain Valley on Jan. 14, 1995, Bracic said.

Haynes, who married a Filipino woman when she was 18, had homes in the Philippines and the U.S. and traveled back and forth between the two, Bracic said.

“He knew police were looking for him and went to the Philippines (in 1995) and didn’t come back,” Bracic allege.d

Haynes contended he did not know authorities were looking for him.

As to how he ended up back in the U.S. to face charges last August, it’s “a mystery,” Bracic said. “He says U.S. marshals showed up in the middle of the night and arrested him.”

There are no records, however, of an extradition, Bracic said.

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