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Jury Sends Convicted Child Molester Back To Mental Hospital

SANTA ANA (AP) — Prosecutors say a 75-year-old convicted child molester will be recommitted indefinitely to a California state mental hospital after a jury found he was a continued threat to children.

The Orange County District Attorney's office says the jury unanimously reached its findings Tuesday in the case of Rafael Torres.

Torres was found guilty of molesting young boys in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. In 1991, he pleaded guilty to eight felony counts of lewd acts on a child under age 14 and was sentenced to 22 years in prison.

Prosecutors say Torres was designated a sexually violent predator in 2003 and committed to a mental hospital. The jury's findings responded to later requests filed by prosecutors to recommit Torres.

A message left for defense attorney Sara Ross was not immediately returned.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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