Former Scoutmaster Sentenced to 24 Years in Molestation Case

A Menifee man and former assistant Scoutmaster for a local Boy Scouts troop who snuck into the home of a longtime friend and engaged in sex acts with the man's preteen daughter pleaded guilty Thursday to felony charges and was immediately sentenced to 24 years in prison.

Jason Wayne Freeman, who turns 40 Friday, was arrested exactly a year ago after he was caught molesting a girl in her bedroom. The child's name was not released.

During a status hearing today at the Riverside Hall of Justice, the prosecution and defense informed Riverside County Superior Court Judge Becky Dugan that a plea agreement had been reached in the case.

Under the terms of the agreement, Freeman acknowledged responsibility for three counts of committing lewd acts on a person under duress, and in exchange the District Attorney's Office dropped seven other charges alleging lewd acts on a child under 14 years old.

Dugan imposed the sentence specified under the plea deal. Had Freeman been tried and convicted of all 10 charges, he could have faced life in prison.

According to sheriff's investigators, around 2 a.m. Dec. 12, 2012, a man residing in the area of Hunter Ridge and Pine Creek drives went to check on his daughter and walked into her room to find Freeman next to her in bed, performing sex acts on her.

Freeman, whom prosecutors said has known the family for many years, leaped out a window and fled. The father called 911, and Freeman was located at his residence in the 29000 block of Singing Wood Lane an hour later and arrested without incident, according to the sheriff's department.

Soon after the allegations surfaced, Freeman was removed from his leadership roles with Troop 444 and the Menifee Youth Foundation, UTSandiego reported.

—City News Service and Maggie Avants contributed to this report.