Merced pediatrician to stand trial in child molestation case

A pediatrician accused of planting a camera in a restroom at Golden Valley Health Centers and filming adults and children using the toilet appeared before Merced Superior Court on Tuesday for a preliminary hearing.

Carlos Teran Miranda, 35, is facing charges of child molestation, possession of child pornography and invasion of privacy. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

After testimony from detectives with the Merced Police Department and presentation of video evidence, Judge David W. Moranda ordered that Teran Miranda be held to answer to the charges.

During the hearing, Michael McKinney, the deputy district attorney prosecuting the case, presented videos obtained from the memory card of the video camera hidden in a floral arrangement in the back of a patient toilet. He said the small black camera could be set to be turned on by noise activation.

The camera’s memory card contained video footage that showed the pediatrician, identified by his name tag, setting up the camera in the restroom. The camera’s memory card also contained four other video clips that showed a woman and three children using the toilet.

Detective Daniel Dabney was one of the witnesses called to testify Tuesday. Dabney, who specializes in technology investigations, testified that he recovered 21 deleted videos.

Some of the clips show recordings from a side view, as if the camera had been placed under a sink. Dabney said this seemed to have been a different restroom – one used primarily by employees.

On May 11, prosecutors added three felony counts of committing lewd acts upon a child to Teran Miranda’s case. Investigators have identified at least three children – boys ages 6 and 8, and a 10-year-old girl – they say were molested by the pediatrician during a medical examination in October or November.

Merced police Detective Joseph Henderson described all three children as having “developmental disabilities.” Henderson said the adoptive mother of the children said Teran Miranda taught her how to clean the children’s genitalia by demonstrating on all three.

Defense attorney Thomas Fleming asked that Teran Miranda’s bail, set at $475,000, be reduced. Fleming presented character reference letters for Teran Miranda, but the judge denied the request.

Fleming declined to comment on Tuesday’s hearing.

McKinney said he was glad that the Judge Moranda agreed there was enough evidence to move the case forward.

Teran Miranda is set to appear back in court on June 9. He remains in custody at John Latorraca Correctional Facility.

This story was originally published May 26, 2015 at 6:18 PM with the headline "Merced pediatrician to stand trial in child molestation case."