SAN DIEGO - A 73-year-old man was convicted Friday of molesting two female family members 20 years ago and another young girl 2 1/2 years ago.
Francisco Javier Esquivel faces 18 years in prison when he is sentenced Dec. 11 by Judge Michael Wellington.
After a day of deliberations, a jury found the defendant guilty of six counts of committing a lewd act on a child.
Prosecutor Dan Link said the molestations came to light in June 2007, when a then-6-year-old relative of the defendant told her mother that Esquivel was touching her inappropriately.
The abuse occurred during family visits to Esquivel's home in Bay View Heights, according to authorities.
The mother went to police, who questioned family members and found two sisters who said Esquivel had also molested them when they were young. Those victims are now 27 and 28 years old, Link said.
The sisters testified that Esquivel touched their private parts in his home and also when he took them for rides in his car. Both adult victims never reported being molested, Link said.
Esquivel denied molesting anyone and blamed the allegations on a relative who didn't like him.
