A 64-year-old man was convicted Monday of sexually assaulting two young girls in Westminster he met through his girlfriend.
Ihsan Youssif Iskandar was convicted of two counts of lewd or lascivious acts with a minor and three counts of lewd or lascivious acts with a minor younger than 14, all felonies.
Iskandar was scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 11.
One of the girls was 3 to 5 years old when she would regularly visit her grandmother, who lived with Iskandar in Westminster, according to a trial brief from Deputy District Attorney Tom Farnell.
The girl said the defendant would have her undress and then “sit on his face,” according to the prosecutor. Iskandar would also expose himself to her, Farnell said.
The girl’s family eventually moved away but as she got older in high school she began confiding in friends, Farnell said. The girl told her father about the sexual abuse in March 2017 and they went to police.
A few years later, another grandchild reported she was also assaulted by the defendant when she was 7 to 8 years old, Farnell said.
Iskandar would assault her while “playing doctor,” the prosecutor said. Iskandar also exposed himself to the girl, Farnell said.
The two victims later began comparing notes about the defendant, Farnell said. In January 2021, the girl told her mother about the abuse and she took her to Westminster police, Farnell said.
Iskandar’s attorney, Kevin Song of the Orange County Public Defender’s Office, argued that one of the girls made the allegations against Iskandar because she did not want him attending her graduation.
The girl thought because of his looks he would be an “embarrassing” sight at her graduation, Song argued.
“Heaven forbid he should show up in any of her photos she was going to post online,” Song argued. “My client is not what you would call a handsome man… But he was family.”
To the victim, Iskandar was “the ultimate photo bomb,” Song argued.
The girl said she would have “panic attacks” when Iskandar attended her tennis matches at school, but Song said that was the only time they would happen and it was because she was embarrassed to be seen with him.
“The government is asking you to bank a verdict on the amazing memory of a 3-year-old,” Song argued.
Song also criticized the testimony from expert Dr. Jody Ward on Child Sexual Assault Accommodation Syndrome, characterizing it as an out-of-date study from the 1970s. Ward was called on to testify why some child sexual abuse victims delay reporting.
“It’s outdated, biased, and can easily be abused and manipulated,” Song said. “She’s not an unbiased expert.”