2nd Molestation Charge Filed in Teen Sex Scandal : Crime: Two members of Spur Posse are now accused of assaulting 10-year-old girl. Thus far, district attorney’s investigators have turned down 15 of the 17 cases presented by Sheriff’s Department.

After reviewing the evidence against a dozen additional suspects in the Lakewood High School sex scandal, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office on Monday filed only a single new felony charge of child molestation against a 16-year-old boy accused of having sex with a 10-year-old girl, authorities said.

In taking the action, the district attorney’s office rejected the 11 other cases outright, leaving prosecutors with only two unidentified juveniles facing charges in a case that has focused national attention on Lakewood. Altogether, district attorney’s investigators have turned down 15 of the 17 cases presented to them by the Sheriff’s Department since the scandal broke a month ago with the arrest of nine teen-age members of a gang known as the Spur Posse.

The teen-agers were accused of raping or molesting a number of underage girls over several months late last year.

“Our conclusion is that there is no credible evidence of forcible rape involving any of these boys,” Sandy Buttitta, chief assistant district attorney, said Monday in a written statement. “Although there is evidence of unlawful sexual intercourse, it is the policy of this office not to file criminal charges where there is consensual sex between teen-agers.”

The decision drew bitterly mixed reactions in the middle-class suburb near Long Beach, where the case has sparked community meetings, pickets and allegations of threats and harassment. Members of the Spurs--who have flaunted their newfound celebrity in recent weeks on a series of national television talk shows--expressed joy and relief. Several had wondered if they were still suspects in the latest round of investigations.

“That’s awesome--the truth comes out!” Kris Belman, 18, said after hearing Monday’s announcement. Belman, who was among the current and former Lakewood High School students arrested during the original raid March 18, added: “I’m excited. Now I can get on with my life. I can do things without thinking I’m going to get arrested (again).”

A 17-year-old Lakewood High School senior and member of the Spurs who was arrested and released last month called Monday’s decision “great.” While maintaining his innocence, he conceded that he had been fearful that the continuing investigation might lead to another arrest.

“I’m just glad that the truth came out that we’re all innocent,” he said.

“I feel bad that all of this happened,” the youth added. “If it’s true about the 10-year-old (girl), I feel bad for her and her family. My regards go out to the family.”

The two 16-year-old suspects who face charges are accused of unlawful sexual relations with the same 10-year-old girl, a district attorney’s spokeswoman said. The first of those suspects, arrested during the original raid, is scheduled for trial in Juvenile Court on April 27. The cases were filed because the sex acts involved a girl under age 14.

Some Lakewood city officials and parents, meanwhile, voiced shock and disappointment that so few charges were filed after so much investigation and uproar. The cases rejected by the district attorney on Monday involved allegations against three adults and seven juveniles, stemming from what sheriff’s deputies characterized as “hundreds of hours” of investigation.

“I’ll tell you, it’s hard to understand this,” said Mayor Larry Van Nostran. “I can’t believe they wouldn’t file in cases where you have an adult having sex with a minor. . . . They should get the full prosecution that the law allows.”

Tami Walters, a resident who had organized several community meetings and a march against the district attorney’s office last week, vowed to continue her protests.

“That just really makes me sick,” she said. “I can’t even believe it.”

City Councilman Marc Titel expressed exasperation over the ordeal caused by a month of intense media scrutiny.

“We have gone through a tremendous trauma,” Titel said. “For what? I’m very angry. I’m angry at the young men (of the Spurs) . . . and angry at those we have placed our trust in to enforce the law.”

Titel said the City Council would be looking into the case to try to understand why such high-profile arrests were made with so little result. “Clearly, this is not the outcome that anyone on the City Council would have foreseen nor expected from this type of situation,” he said, “and there needs to be an assessment of what happened to ensure that this never happens again.”

Sheriff’s Cmdr. Robert C. Ripley, who oversees the Juvenile Investigations Bureau, conceded that with Monday’s action the case was winding down, despite the continuing investigation of charges involving about half a dozen other suspects.

“We felt strongly that the majority of these girls were victimized,” Ripley said. “But we understand the system. . . . There are checks and balances. We process the documents and interview the victims and witnesses and put it together. (The district attorney) makes the decision about whether to file the case.”

In rejecting the cases, Buttitta made it clear that the district attorney’s office “in no way condones” the “callous and cruel behavior” of the Spurs, who boasted of keeping point totals to chronicle their sexual conquests. “The arrogance and contempt for young women which have been displayed, while appalling, cannot form the basis for criminal charges,” Buttitta said.

Until that ruling, sheriff’s investigators had been confident that many of the charges would be filed, Ripley said.

“When you put your heart and soul into a case and it’s rejected . . . you’re disappointed,” the sheriff’s commander said, predicting that the investigation of any remaining allegations would be handled quickly. “When a girl alleges that she’s been victimized, we can’t say we’re not going to take the report because the district attorney’s not going to file it. (But) we would like to get it wrapped up as soon as possible.”