A Tae Kwon Do instructor accused of molesting his nine-year-old student pled not guilty last Friday and waived his right to a speedy trial.
Ralph "Eugene" Todd, 31, of Menlo Park, was arrested in December 2012 and charged with committing lewd acts on a child, according to The San Mateo County District Attorney’s records. Todd had taught at the Tae Kwon Do Academy in Woodside Plaza for 12 years, according to Redwood City police.
On February 5, 2013 Redwood City police searched Todd’s home, with a search warrant, and found pornography featuring minors, according to public records. He was charged with two counts of child pornography possession.
Prosecutors have consolidated the charges against him into one case.
A search of the California Department of Justice's website for his name to discover if he had been previously convicted of offenses of a similar nature yielded no results. If convicted, Todd faces a fine of up to $2,500 and at least one year of imprisonment.
Todd has waived his right to a speedy trial and pled not guilty to all charges.
His attorney Ryan McHugh declined to comment on what transpired in the Tae Kwon Do class that day. McHugh did say his client "disputes the allegations."
Todd's case is set for pretrial conference on August 18, 2013. The jury trial date is scheduled for September 30.
Todd remains out of custody on $200,000 bail bonds.
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