Bid to Withdraw Plea Is Denied
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A Municipal Court judge denied a request Thursday by a former Los Angeles Unified School District janitor to withdraw his plea of no contest to molestation charges.
William Lester Thompson, who was charged with 11 counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor, worked at Kester Elementary School in Van Nuys, where the acts allegedly occurred.
Thompson was fired by the school district in November, LAUSD spokesman Ed Pardo said.
According to court documents, Thompson agreed Nov. 2 to plead no contest to three of the charges in a plea bargain with the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.
Thompson’s attorney, Stuart Goldfarb, said Thompson was reluctant to agree to the offer and had since changed his mind.
Judge Paul Metzler said Thompson was making a mistake in trying to take his case to trial.
“I don’t see any legal cause in withdrawing the plea,” Metzler said.
Thompson is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 22.
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