A San Clemente orthodontist has been charged with possessing child pornography and molesting a 4-year-old boy, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office announced.
Frank Joseph Mogavero Jr., 63, who operates offices in San Clemente, San Diego and Mammoth Lakes, is accused of molesting a child between January 2013 and July 2020 in Mono County and Orange County. The first offense allegedly took place in Mammoth, when the victim was 4 years old. Four additional offenses occurred in Orange County, when the victim was between 11 and 12 years old.
The victim’s identity and his relation to Mogavero are not being released at this time, however the victim was not a patient of Mogavero.
Mogavero is charged with five counts of committing a lewd act with a child under the age of 14 and one count of possession of child pornography. If convicted of all counts, he faces a maximum of 16 years and eight months in state prison.
He is being held without bail, and is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Dec. 9.
“The sexual abuse of an innocent child is something that should outrage our entire community and we will continue to do everything we can to continue to protect children from the monsters who seek to prey on them,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer.
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