Details told in case against missionary
By: Glen Puit
Review - Journal
A child who accused a former Mormon missionary of sexual molestation once made a similar accusation against her uncle, then acknowledged lying about the incident, according to court records and a defense attorney.
The details of the apparent false sex abuse allegation are contained in court records stemming from the grand jury indictment of John Misseldine, 21.
Misseldine is accused of assaulting two girls, ages 7 and 4, at a Las Vegas Valley church in May. He was indicted by a grand jury in December on charges of sexual assault with a minor and lewdness.
In grand jury proceedings, the mother of the 4-year-old said Las Vegas police once investigated a similar allegation lodged by the child, according to court transcripts.
The mother said the girl told police that her uncle engaged in sexual misconduct with the child and her sister, who is not an alleged victim in the Misseldine case.
"They (the police) told me that (the 4-year-old) told them that my brother had touched them," the woman told the grand jury.
The woman said that after the accusation against the child's uncle was made, the 4-year-old subsequently told her "that she was sorry, but she told a lie."
The mother testified that when her daughter referenced telling a lie, the child didn't elaborate on exactly what she had lied about.
However, the child's mother told the grand jury she was under the impression the lie pertained to the sexual abuse allegations against the child's uncle.
"She was not specific," the mother said. "That was just the impression I got."
The prior abuse accusation was investigated by police, and prosecutors declined to file charges against the child's uncle because of insufficient evidence, Clark County prosecutor Becky Goettsch said.
Misseldine's defense attorney, Robert Draskovich, said the prior allegation is clearly false and, as a result, the entire case against Misseldine should be dismissed.
"I am concerned about this case even going forward when one child is already known to have falsely accused a man of sexual misconduct," Draskovich said Wednesday.
But Goettsch said the prior accusation does not affect the veracity of the charges against Misseldine. The prosecutor said it still isn't clear whether the lie in question was a reference to the accusations against the uncle.
"She's only 4," Goettsch said. "We are talking about a really little kid."
In the grand jury proceedings, both of the children offered specific testimony about the alleged abuse by Misseldine.
"He told me that I had pretty legs ... then he went under my dress and under my underwear, and then he touched me," the 7-year-old said.
The 4-year-old also said she was inappropriately touched by Misseldine.
"When I was in the room with the man, he touched my private part," the 4-year-old said.
Also, after Misseldine was arrested, police said he made a seemingly incriminating statement to investigators. Misseldine supposedly told officers that he faced a similar legal problem in Virginia, but said those charges were dropped.
Authorities have been unable to document any prior arrest for Misseldine in Virginia and there is no mention of this incident in grand jury transcripts.
