WESTLAKE : D.A. Drops Felony Molestation Charge

The Ventura County district attorney’s office has decided not to pursue a felony molestation charge that it had filed against a Westlake pediatrician in an incident involving a 13-year-old girl.

The physician, Stuart M. Berlin, still faces trial in Ventura County Municipal Court on six misdemeanor counts of sexual battery involving four women.

At a preliminary hearing last month, a Municipal Court judge decided that there was enough evidence against Berlin to order him to trial on all seven counts.

But on Thursday, Deputy Dist. Atty. William G. Karr said the felony charge was being dropped. “Basically, we did not feel there was sufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that lewd intent was involved,” Karr said.

At the preliminary hearing, the teen-ager testified that Berlin fondled her breasts while checking her heartbeat and respiration. The other women testified that he fondled their breasts after they complained to him about breast-feeding problems, back pain or migraines.

Berlin, who has closed his medical practice, will be arraigned on the remaining charges July 23, when a trial date will be set.