Jury selection in child sex case slated for Tuesday

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With two days allotted to lawyers assessing whether they’re ready for trial, jury selection is expected to begin Tuesday in the retrial of John Heely, former director of music publishing for Disney, charged with performing lewd acts with a child.

Jonathan Blake Heely, 59, of Santa Clarita, was held to answer Feb. 28, 2018, for three felony counts of lewd act upon a child and one misdemeanor count of child molesting.

A new trial was called in July, after jurors failed to reach a verdict after a 4-day trial.

On Friday, lawyers met in San Fernando Superior Court for an readiness hearing, hoping jury selection would begin Monday for the new trial. Instead, the readiness hearing was expected to continue Monday, with jury selection penciled in for Tuesday.

He remains out on bail.

Heely is charged with sexually assaulting female family members who were between the ages of 11 and 16 at the time of the alleged offenses, according to evidence presented at the preliminary hearing.

The alleged abuse took place between 2006-10, according to the criminal complaint.

If convicted as charged, Heely faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 years and four months in state prison.

[email protected] 661-287-5527 On Twitter @jamesarthurholt

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