A jury was seated Wednesday for the trial of a Temecula man accused of molesting his 6-year-old stepdaughter.
Dana Leon Wilber, 51, is charged with two counts each of lewd acts on a minor and penetration of a child under 10 years old.
After two days of screening about 150 prospective jurors at the Southwest Justice Center, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Elaine Kiefer swore in a jury to hear evidence in what’s expected to be a five-day trial.
Opening statements are slated for Thursday. Wilber is being held in lieu of $2 million bail at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta.
Wilber was arrested Oct. 25. According to sheriff’s Sgt. Steve Fredericks, detectives were contacted weeks before, when allegations were made that Wilber had allegedly sexually abused the victim, whose name was not disclosed, over an unspecified period of time.
Fredericks said the child’s mother immediately removed her daughter from the property that they shared with Wilber in the 30000 block of Colina Verde to ensure the girl’s safety.
Detectives conducted interviews and gathered evidence over a two-week span, eventually obtaining a warrant for Wilber’s arrest.
Fredericks said Wilber was taken into custody without incident at his workplace on Magnolia Avenue in Riverside.
Wilber has no documented prior felony convictions.