See the update at the end of this post about a now former Disneyland machinist facing allegations of sexually assaulting a third child, who was 7 when the abuse is said to have begun.
ORIGINAL POST, JULY 2, 4:36 P.M.: When Disneyland machinist Bryan William Anast was arrested and arraigned last month for sexually assaulting a female relative when she was 11 and possessing child pornography, authorities reached out to the public in case there might be other victims. That plea paid dividends as prosecutors today announced additional charges against the Corona 45-year-old for alleged sexual assaults on the 7-year-old daughter of a family friend.
]
As the Weekly previously reported, Anast pleaded not guilty at his June 24 arraignment in Westminster to four felony counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, one felony count of possession and control of child pornography, and a sentencing enhancement allegation for forcible sex crimes.
Those charges were based on the claims of a woman in her late 20s who alleges Anast sexually assaulted her on four different dates between Nov. 2, 1997, when she was 11, and Nov. 1, 2000, at three different locations in Stanton and Garden Grove.
Orange County sheriff's deputies arrested Anast at Disneyland, where he worked as a machinist fixing rides. Disney then issued a statement to the media noting none of the alleged assaults happened at the theme park.
A subsequent search of Anast's home produced several videos of child pornography on a computer data storage device he owned, according to the Orange County District Attorney's office (OCDA), adding that discovery of amateur images of children prompted fears of other potential victims of sex abuse.
Further investigation revealed the identity of a second girl, the daughter of the family friend, who beginning when she was 7 in 1996 and through 2000 was sexually assaulted by Anast, according to the OCDA. At least twice–once in his Orange County home and once in her Los Angeles County residence–Anast molested the girl by rubbing her vaginal area, adds the OCDA, which is prosecuting the alleged crimes in both counties.
The new counts against Anast, who was scheduled to be arraigned on them today in Westminster, are two felony counts of lewd acts on a child under 14 with a sentencing enhancement for sex crimes against multiple victims. Together with the previous charges, he now faces a maximum sentence of 78 years to life in state prison and mandatory lifetime sex offender registration with a conviction.
But that may not even be the end of it. Investigators are still trying to identify other potential victims from the public and especially from those perverted videos. Anyone who has information or believes they were a victim is encouraged to contact Supervising District Attorney Investigator Paul Carvo at 714.347.8794.
In the meantime, Anast continues to be held on $1 million bail.
UPDATE, JULY 11, 4:12 P.M.: Allegations from a third female who was 7 when her relative Bill Anast began sexually assaulting her have led to more charges against the former Disneyland machinist, prosecutors announced.
For that case, the Corona 45-year-old was charged today with three felony counts of lewd acts on a child under 14, which has bumped up the maximum punishment he faces with a conviction on counts involving all three girls to 93 years to life in state prison and mandatory lifetime sex offender registration. His bail remains at $1 million pending a preliminary hearing scheduled for July 19 in Westminster.
As was the case with the second girl, who was also 7 when the alleged abuse against her began, the ongoing investigation following Anast's arrest led to the discovery of the third girl. According to a statement from the Orange County District Attorney's (OCDA) office:
“Between April 1995 and April 1998, Anast is accused of sexually assaulting another female relative … beginning when she was 7 years old. He is accused of rubbing the vaginal area of [her] on at least three different occasions at the victim's home in Laguna Hills.”
As the OCDA has noted before, the investigation is ongoing and anyone with additional information or who believes they have been a victim is encouraged to contact Supervising District Attorney Investigator Paul Carvo at 714.347.8794.
Email: mc****@oc******.com. Twitter: @MatthewTCoker. Follow OC Weekly on Twitter @ocweekly or on Facebook!
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.