News
Couple Taped Sex With 4 Year Old Girl
Published: Apr 21, 2004 - 12:45 PM
A South County couple who allegedly videotaped themselves having sex with a preschool-age relative were ordered Tuesday to stand trial on 88 counts each in a child molestation and kidnapping case. If convicted, they could face five life sentences, one for each time they are accused of deceiving the child's parents into letting them keep the little girl overnight.
A sheriff's investigator testified during the preliminary hearing that David Hwang, 32, and his wife, Sheila Sikat, 24, told the girl's parents that they wanted to be baby-sitters for the child to practice parenting skills.
Instead, the Rancho Santa Margarita couple filmed lengthy sex sessions with the girl, authorities say. When Hwang and Sikat were arrested in September, police allegedly found a trunk in the couple's bedroom containing more than 200 homemade videotapes involving various children.
Defense attorneys argued Tuesday that the kidnapping charges should be dropped because the couple did not use force to abduct the child.
But the deceit of the parents, coupled with the activities observed on the seized videotapes, warranted the kidnapping charges, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Beth Costello.
Superior Court Judge Everett W. Dickey agreed. "It's a particularly pernicious type of representation," he said, "because parents of children know how important that is [to want to learn to be good parents]."
Charges against the couple include 77 counts of lewd acts against the child and five counts of using a child to create pornography, five counts of kidnapping for sexual purposes and a misdemeanor charge of possessing child pornography. The prosecutor dropped two lewd-acts charges after she realized they duplicated other charges.
Hwang and Sikat, who have pleaded not guilty, were ordered to appear in court May 4 in Santa Ana to enter formal pleas.
Costello called the behavior she observed on the 216 tapes the "most atrocious" she'd ever seen.
"The parents have trusted you with their child, and this is going on behind closed doors," she said. "It just shows these are two people without hearts."
The Sheriff's Department launched an investigation into the couple after someone anonymously sent authorities a videotape containing snippets of the homemade sex movies. The couple were arrested in September after Sikat identified herself and her husband on the tapes to a sheriff's deputy, an investigator testified.
The investigator testified during the first portion of the hearing April 8 that the couple's tapes and CDs showed six children being molested. Detectives believe five of the girls ? including an 8-month-old ? were molested in Texas, where Hwang once lived and where he will be extradited after the Orange County trial.
Authorities said the California child is related to Sikat. The couple are accused of molesting her on several occasions from January 2001 to February 2003 and recording on video the four-hour sessions. The girl was 4 when the alleged molestations began.
The couple are seen on the video making her drink a dark-colored liquid, which they called "medicine," before the child becomes unconscious, Costello said. She was not awake during the alleged molestation and does not remember anything, the prosecutor said, adding she would not be asked to testify at trial.
Although Sikat is not accused of actually committing the sex acts, she assisted her husband by positioning the child and suggesting he do certain things, Costello said. Sikat's actions warrant the lewd-conduct charges, she said.
Instead, the Rancho Santa Margarita couple filmed lengthy sex sessions with the girl, authorities say. When Hwang and Sikat were arrested in September, police allegedly found a trunk in the couple's bedroom containing more than 200 homemade videotapes involving various children.
Defense attorneys argued Tuesday that the kidnapping charges should be dropped because the couple did not use force to abduct the child.
But the deceit of the parents, coupled with the activities observed on the seized videotapes, warranted the kidnapping charges, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Beth Costello.
Superior Court Judge Everett W. Dickey agreed. "It's a particularly pernicious type of representation," he said, "because parents of children know how important that is [to want to learn to be good parents]."
Charges against the couple include 77 counts of lewd acts against the child and five counts of using a child to create pornography, five counts of kidnapping for sexual purposes and a misdemeanor charge of possessing child pornography. The prosecutor dropped two lewd-acts charges after she realized they duplicated other charges.
Hwang and Sikat, who have pleaded not guilty, were ordered to appear in court May 4 in Santa Ana to enter formal pleas.
Costello called the behavior she observed on the 216 tapes the "most atrocious" she'd ever seen.
"The parents have trusted you with their child, and this is going on behind closed doors," she said. "It just shows these are two people without hearts."
The Sheriff's Department launched an investigation into the couple after someone anonymously sent authorities a videotape containing snippets of the homemade sex movies. The couple were arrested in September after Sikat identified herself and her husband on the tapes to a sheriff's deputy, an investigator testified.
The investigator testified during the first portion of the hearing April 8 that the couple's tapes and CDs showed six children being molested. Detectives believe five of the girls ? including an 8-month-old ? were molested in Texas, where Hwang once lived and where he will be extradited after the Orange County trial.
Authorities said the California child is related to Sikat. The couple are accused of molesting her on several occasions from January 2001 to February 2003 and recording on video the four-hour sessions. The girl was 4 when the alleged molestations began.
The couple are seen on the video making her drink a dark-colored liquid, which they called "medicine," before the child becomes unconscious, Costello said. She was not awake during the alleged molestation and does not remember anything, the prosecutor said, adding she would not be asked to testify at trial.
Although Sikat is not accused of actually committing the sex acts, she assisted her husband by positioning the child and suggesting he do certain things, Costello said. Sikat's actions warrant the lewd-conduct charges, she said.
