Jury acquits a Santa Ana man who was accused of molesting his ex-girlfriend’s daughters

Ignacio Gaytan Hernandez, a 40-year-old Santa Ana man, was acquitted Tuesday of molesting the two daughters of his former girlfriend, according to the O.C. Register.

The girls, ages 11 and 14, accused their mother’s boyfriend of molesting them when they were 9 and 11 years old, according to Hernandez’ attorney, O.C. Deputy Public Defender Sara W. Ross said.

Ross said that the girls “had credibility issues and there was a lot of doubt. They had lied before – they had made false accusations before. And their statements were pretty inconsistent.”

For some reason Hernandez actually tried to get Ross removed from his case right before the trial was to begin but the judge would not let him do so. Ross said that her client was “very, very anxious and worried and not comfortable with the setting.” She added that “I just think it was really heart-wrenching for him because he really cared for them (the girls). And he was never arrested before.”

Hernandez was facing up to 90 years to life in prison if he had been convicted. He was behind bars since his mid-October arrest. He now has a new lease on life.