Signal Staff Writer
jselva@the-signal.com
Posted: Oct. 16, 2009 10:42 p.m.
A Canyon Country woman pleaded not guilty to a charge of felony child abuse Friday while a judge dramatically raised the bail on a man she lived with, who is accused of sexually abusing the same girl over several years.
Clarrissa Dix, 38, was being held in lieu of $100,000. Meanwhile, Gary Eugene Kelly, 53, had his bail raised from $100,000 to $1.3 million, said Shiara Davila-Morales, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Though specific details were not available, court documents show the couple is accused of severely abusing a girl who lived with them. The abuse began in September 2004, the documents said.
Kelly faces two felony charges of lewd acts on a child and one felony count of continuous sexual abuse, which are believed to have occurred as recently as Wednesday — the day sheriff’s deputies arrested the couple, according to court documents.
The defendants were arrested in the 17000 block of Danielson Street, said Los Angeles County sheriff’s Sgt. Brian Hudson of the Special Victims Bureau.
Kelly was arrested on suspicion of sodomizing a child under the age of 14, and Dix was arrested on suspicion of child cruelty likely to produce great bodily injury or death, according to sheriff’s reports.
A San Fernando Superior Court judge postponed the arraignment for Kelly to Oct. 29. Dix’s next appearance is set for Oct. 27.
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