Geneticist Sentenced for Molesting Girl

A world-renowned geneticist was sentenced Friday to 14 years in prison for molesting an employee's daughter who took martial arts classes at his home.

Many people, including a Nobel Prize winner, wrote letters in support of William French Anderson, Time magazine's runner-up for Man of the Year in 1995. But Judge Michael E. Pastor said he caused "incalculable" emotional damage to a victim he described as an insecure and trusting immigrant.

"Because of intellectual arrogance, he persisted and he got away with as much as he could," the judge said.

Anderson, 70, was convicted in July child molestation. He could have gotten 18 years behind bars.

Anderson has been called the "father of gene therapy" for his work on a promising but controversial experimental medical treatment that involves injecting healthy genes into sick patients.

He claimed to be the first person to successfully treat a patient with the therapy in 1990, though the claim has been disputed.

Prosecutors said Anderson molested the girl from 1997 to 2001, starting when she was 10.

Anderson watched intently as his victim, now 19, read a statement before he was sentenced.

"Roughly three years ago, I wanted to kill myself," she said. "I couldn't live with all the pain. ... He maliciously destroyed my world to fulfill his own sick pleasures."

The judge also ordered Anderson to pay her family about $52,000 in restitution for past therapy and cover the cost of any future treatment. He also imposed fines and fees of about $16,000.

Defense attorneys argued that Anderson was a friendly mentor to the girl and was being smeared by her mother, who wanted to assume Anderson's position as director of the Gene Therapies Laboratories at the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine.

My thoughts:

if he actually did it: just goes to show how anyone, especially scientists, are scumbags. they kill animals for "research", might as well molest 14 year olds for pleasure...

if he didn't: just goes to show how someone out to get you who has the power, can use "molestor" or "rapist" to destroy your life and character. no one will listen to your defense or side with you because they don't want to be sympathetic or siding with a child molestor...