MURRIETA (CNS) – A Jan. 16 trial date was confirmed today for a 76-
year-old man accused of sexually assaulting three girls in San Jacinto and
fleeing south of the border, where he was apprehended 18 months ago.
Harry Arlington Durette is charged with 65 felony offenses, most of
them alleging forcible lewd acts on a child under 14 years old.
During a status hearing Tuesday at the Southwest Justice Center in
Murrieta, Riverside County Superior Court Judge John Monterosso conferred with
the prosecution and defense regarding scheduling, and both sides agreed to work
toward preparing to move forward with trial proceedings in mid January.
Durette is being held in lieu of $1 million at the Byrd Detention Center.
He was captured in Rosarito, Mexico, in March 2022 following an
investigation by District Attorney’s Office personnel and members of the U.S.
Marshals’ Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force.
According to a D.A.’s office statement, agency Investigator Mike Riley
developed leads that the defendant was holed up in Rosarito and coordinated
with the U.S. Marshals and Mexican authorities to nab him on March 8.
Durette was immediately extradited back to the U.S.
Prosecutors said the septuagenarian was first arrested and charged in August 2020 following a sheriff’s investigation that revealed multiple alleged acts of molestation involving an underage girl, whose identity was not
disclosed.
The D.A.’s office said that the defendant posted a $55,000 bond, and
while free, investigators procured additional information indicating that he
had allegedly sexually assaulted two other girls, also not identified in court
documents.
“Durette failed to appear on the date of his preliminary hearing in
October 2021,” according to an agency statement. “A bench warrant was issued
and held until Nov. 17, 2021, when he again failed to appear in court. On that
date, a $1 million warrant was issued by a judge.”
It was unclear whether Durette allegedly made prior arrangements to
flee to Rosarito, or did so on impulse after the amended criminal complaint was
filed based on the two additional victims.
The circumstances behind the alleged offenses and the defendant’s
relationship to the girls, if any, were not disclosed. He has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County. If convicted, he faces life in prison with the possibility of parole. Copyright 2023, City News Service, Inc.
