Sexual Assault Suspect Asks to Recant Plea : Courts: Kevin Malone had confessed to a string of crimes in May. Now he wants a judge to withdraw his guilty plea and schedule a jury trial.

Faced with a long prison sentence, the man who admitted to a string of sexual assaults in the Ojai Valley asked a judge Tuesday to forget about his guilty plea and instead schedule a jury trial.

Kevin Richard Malone, 38, had pleaded guilty in May to eight counts of sexual assault. At the time, his attorney said Malone was extremely remorseful and admitted to the crimes to spare the victims from having to testify.

In exchange for his plea, prosecutors agreed to drop 14 other related charges. Malone was due to be sentenced Friday, facing between 27 and nearly 85 years in prison.

“I think he had a long time in jail to think about this before his sentencing,” said Willard P. Wiksell, who was Malone’s attorney until Tuesday, when he persuaded the judge to excuse him from the case.

If Superior Court Judge Charles W. Campbell allows Malone to withdraw his plea, the twice-convicted prowler will have to stand trial on all 22 counts. A hearing on the motion is set for Sept. 5.

“Everything goes back to square one and all the charges would be reinstated” if Malone is granted a trial, Deputy Dist. Atty. Bob Calvert said.

Even Wiksell concedes that it is unlikely the judge will schedule a trial.

“It is very difficult to withdraw your plea,” Wiksell said. “Judges usually won’t let you.”

In order for Campbell to throw out Malone’s guilty plea, the judge would have to find that Wiksell did not properly advise his client of the consequences of pleading guilty.

The move could cost Malone more time in prison. Wiksell said he would have argued for a 30-year prison term, which meant Malone could have been freed in about 15 years.

But because of Malone’s change of heart, his chances for getting close to the minimum prison sentence if found guilty dwindled, Wiksell said. “He’s taking a big risk.”

Judges usually take into consideration a defendant’s remorse and the speed with which he pleads guilty during the sentencing.

Calvert declined to comment on Malone’s motion.

“I haven’t read it yet,” he said.

Campbell on Tuesday appointed James Farley to replace Wiksell as Malone’s attorney.

It was just the latest twist in a case that outraged and frightened Ojai Valley residents for most of last year, when several elderly woman were assaulted and one was severely beaten. Police arrested a suspect in January, only to release him several weeks later when Malone was captured.

Residents again were left frightened and angered last month when an 89-year-old woman was beaten and sexually assaulted in her Ojai home. The culprit in that case remains at large.