A Lompoc Valley man must stand trial for child-molestation charges, a judge ruled at the end of a preliminary hearing in Santa Barbara County Superior Court.
Roman Gil Aguilar, 45, of Vandenberg Village pleaded not guilty after he was arrested in July 2019 and charged a few months later with 13 felony counts of lewd and lascivious behavior involving a girl who was 14 or 15 years old.
The alleged incidents involving inappropriate touching occurred between March 1 and June 11 of last year, according to court documents.
After a preliminary hearing earlier this month in a Lompoc courtroom, Judge Raimundo Montes de Oca determined enough evidence exists for Aguilar to stand trial on the charges.
His arraignment has been scheduled for mid-November before Judge Patricia Kelly.
Supervising Deputy District Attorney Scott Donahue is leading the prosecution team while Aguilar is represented by attorney Steven Andrade.
Aguilar has been free on bail while the case moves through the court system.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.