A jury was seated today for the trial of an ex-firefighter accused of raping his fiancee and sexually abusing his ex-wife’s two young children.
William Robert Bolduc
William Robert Bolduc, 57, could face life in prison if convicted of two counts each of lewd acts on a child and oral copulation of a child under 10 years old, as well as rape, sodomy and other sexual assault-related allegations.
After two days of jury selection, a panel of 12 jurors and four alternates was sworn in by Riverside County Superior Court Judge Kelly Hansen.
Opening statements are scheduled this afternoon. The trial is expected to last more than a week.
According to prosecutors, the defendant’s former stepson and stepdaughter — whose identities were withheld — told family members early last year that he allegedly had molested them when they all lived under the same roof in Quail Valley, near Perris, in 2004 and 2005.
The girl was around 3 or 4 years old at the time, and her brother was 5 or 6. The boy alleged Bolduc fondled him, while his sister claimed the defendant groped her and forced her to touch him intimately.
Laura Bolduc said that she initiated divorce proceedings in 2006 after the defendant allegedly became “physically and sexually abusive,” Deputy District Attorney Sean Crandell told City News Service in April.
Bolduc, who retired from the Chula Vista Fire Department in 2010 after 18 years on the job, is separately charged with sexually assaulting his then-fiancee in December 2009.
The alleged assault occurred after the victim underwent oral surgery, and Bolduc took her back to her Murrieta home, according to an arrest warrant affidavit filed by Murrieta police.
The woman had been heavily sedated for the procedure and was barely conscious as the anesthesia wore off over several hours, according to court papers.
The victim told investigators she recalled hearing a camera phone clicking and being vaguely aware that her clothes were being removed and replaced.
She alleged that after awakening, she had pain associated with sexual activity.
Several days later, the woman took Bolduc’s mobile phone to an electronics shop and had two dozen recently erased images restored. Investigators allege the pictures showed the woman on her stomach, nude, and the defendant allegedly violating her.
Bolduc is in custody in lieu of $1 million bail at the Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta.
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