Trial beginning for ex-Merced CHP officer charged with child molestation

Jury selection is underway this morning for a 39-year-old former California Highway Patrol officer accused of molesting a 10-year-old girl in Merced County.

Gilbert Gutierrez has pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child.

The veteran law enforcement official was employed by the CHP and stationed at the Merced-area office in Atwater when the alleged molestation occurred. However, CHP officials on Thursday confirmed Gutierrez is no longer employed by the CHP. The circumstances and time frame of Gutierrez’s departure from the CHP were not immediately clear.

Gutierrez is accused of sexually touching a 10-year-old girl twice during a children’s slumber party at his home on July 21, 2015, authorities have said.

If convicted, Gutierrez faces up to 16 years in state prison, authorities have said.

Gutierrez, speaking through his attorneys in court, has denied the allegations and maintained that he is innocent.

He was employed by the CHP for more than six years, including four years with the CHP in San Jose, before he transferred to Merced in 2013.

Jury selection began Wednesday before Commissioner Jeanne Schechter in Merced Superior Court. Opening statements could come as early as this afternoon.

This story was originally published February 9, 2017 at 10:09 AM with the headline "Trial beginning for ex-Merced CHP officer charged with child molestation."