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Geneticist convicted of molesting child

Victim was young daughter of a colleague

Geneticist William French Anderson was convicted of molesting a colleague's daughter.

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LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- World-renowned geneticist William French Anderson was once a runner-up for Time magazine's Man of the Year for his role in developing gene therapy, a promising yet controversial treatment that involves injecting healthy genes into sick patients.

Now Anderson, convicted Wednesday of molesting the young daughter of a colleague, must undergo a psychiatric evaluation before his sentencing in November.

Though Anderson's lawyer argued the scientist should stay free to continue his important work, Superior Court Judge Michael E. Pastor ordered Anderson jailed. The scientist, who faces a maximum of 22 years in prison, had been free on bond during the trial.

"While Dr. Anderson is statutorily eligible for probation, he is clearly facing possible decades in prison," Pastor said.

Although the judge said he was impressed with Anderson's demeanor during the trial, he said he was not comfortable allowing the scientist to remain free. Among other things, he cited an e-mail Anderson wrote to the victim suggesting he might commit suicide if the allegations became public and saying he had bought a gun and ammunition.

"He has had two and half years to blow his brains out and he didn't," said Anderson's lawyer, Barry Tarlow.

He said the e-mail was evidence that Anderson did not have great social skills: "Nothing about having a 176 IQ means you have good judgment," Tarlow said.

Prosecutors said Anderson molested the girl from 1997 to 2001 and that the abuse began during Saturday morning tae kwon do lessons at his home in San Marino, a wealthy suburb east of Los Angeles.

Tarlow had argued during the three-week trial that his client was a kindly mentor to the girl and was being smeared by her mother, whom he said wanted to assume Anderson's position at USC.

On Wednesday, a jury convicted Anderson of one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child under age 14 and three counts of committing a lewd act upon a child.

Tarlow vowed to appeal the verdicts "to the highest court in the land. We will not rest until justice is done."

Prosecutor James Garrison said the judge can consider a wide variety of factors, including Anderson's work, in sentencing the scientist.

"We all acknowledge the contributions he has made in the past. But what's important now is the damage he did to the victim," Garrison said.

Co-prosecutor Cathryn Brougham said the victim, now 19, was pleased with the jury's verdict. She declined to say what sentence would be sought until the diagnostic study was completed.

"We want a sentence that reflects the damage he did to the victim," she said.

Anderson had been placed on leave from his position as director of the Gene Therapies Laboratories at the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine.

A pioneer in his field, Anderson published hundreds of articles in scholarly journals and won numerous awards for his work. He was runner-up for Time's Man of the Year in 1995 and launched the scientific journal Human Gene Therapy.

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