The 44-year-old child care provider charged with multiple counts of child abuse,– Mark Curtis Marcum — fired his attorney prior to a scheduled disposition/reset hearing. The action delayed the hearing until December 11, (File Photo)
By G. T. Houts
UPDATE: November 5 – 3:55 p.m.
San Bernardino, CA – The disposition /reset hearing for 44-year-old Mark Curtis Marcum from Big Bear City — a former child care provider facing numerous sex abuse charges — took an unusual turn Wednesday when he fired his attorney.
Judge Michael M. Dest convened the hearing in Department S-17 only to be informed by attorney Cynthia Dunning that she had been terminated by Marcum.
Dunning was relieved by the court after returning discovery materials to Judge Dest.
HEARING RESCHEDULED
The court advised Marcum that if he has not retained counsel by the next hearing date — December 11 at 8:30 a.m. — the court will appoint counsel to represent him.
ORIGINAL STORY
Big Bear City, CA – The 44-year-old Big Bear City man, who was employed as a child care provider, facing multiple sex abuse charges after allegedly orally copulating a 7-year-old victim, returns to court on Wednesday, November 5, for a disposition/reset hearing.
The man — identified in court documents as Mark Curtis Marcum — has entered a not guilty plea to the charges. During his last court appearance on September 10, Marcum’s attorney Cynthia Dunning was granted a continuance by Judge Annemarie G. Pace.
He remains in custody at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga with bail set at $1 million.
THE CASE
Big Bear Sheriff’s deputies began investigating the allegations of child molestation on Wednesday, March 5. Officers determined the molestation’s had taken place in Big Bear City between August 2013 and February 2014, according to a media advisory.
Big Bear Sheriff’s detectives conducted the investigation and placed Marcus under arrest at 3:20 p.m. on March 13, according to booking documents released by the Sheriff’s Department. (140)