Dedy Idris gets 42 years in prison

A former Pacifica man who escaped 118 molestation convictions after a jury hung was sentenced to more than four decades in prison on the nine charges on which jurors were able to unanimously convict.

Dedy Idris, 65, knew he faced a 36 to 42 year sentence when he agreed not to appeal those nine convictions on grounds of jury misconduct. In return, prosecutors also agreed not to retry him on the 118 counts that sparked a mistrial. On Friday, Idris received the full 42 allowed.

After sentencing, defense attorney Steve Chase said the focus should not be on the steep sentence but the bravery of two victims and one parent who told the court they forgave him.

"The damage to these woman can never be fixed by the sentence imposed. Mr. Idris truly had no idea of the impact his actions had on these girls. His actions were horrible, but had he known the impact these actions would have had, he would never have done these things," Chase said.

Chase hopes the story encourages other victims of similar crimes to come forward sooner.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said the steep sentencing range is a primary reason why his office agreed to settle the case rather than try again for more convictions.

Idris' trial came 17 years after prosecutors say he molested four girls between January 1988 and July 1993 while living in his friends' Pacifica home. The girls were friends of the couple's young daughter. After Pacifica police began investigating Idris, he fled to his native Indonesia. The United States has no extradition treaty with the country so after agreeing to surrender to the FBI, he flew to Guam where he was arrested and returned in September 2008.

During trial, Chase argued the now-adult alleged victims had no corroborating evidence.

Jurors deliberated seven days before announcing they were helplessly deadlocked 11-1 in favor of guilt on the majority of charges. Two days prior, the jury had returned verdicts of guilty on nine charges of felony lewd acts with a child by force or threat and one count of lewd and lascivious behavior. A remaining count was dismissed after jurors returned both guilty and not guilty forms.

After Judge Jack Grandsaert declared a mistrial July 14, prosecutors said a retrial decision was predicated on what sentence was being considered.

Idris has been in custody in lieu of $3 million bail.