SAN DIEGO -- A 64-year-old man accused of molesting three boys -- including two who lived with him in San Diego in the late 1990s -- must stand trial on 31 felony counts, a judge ruled Monday.

Steven Meredith Bimson was extradited to San Diego after being found Aug. 18 semiconscious inside a rental car parked on the side of a Las Vegas freeway, with a hose running from the vehicle's exhaust pipe into the passenger compartment, authorities said.

One of the alleged victims, identified in court as Branden S., testified during the three-hour preliminary hearing that Bimson molested him the first night after he moved in with him in Arizona in 1993 or 1994.

The witness, now 26 years old, said he "froze" when Bimson touched him as they lay in the same bed.

"My reaction was fright," he said, noting that he was a runaway coming up on his 13th birthday when he moved in with the defendant.

The witness said he was molested "just about every night" by Bimson until moving to Reno in 1997.

"It was just too hard for me," he said. "I just wanted to be normal."

During the time he lived with Bimson, the alleged victim said the defendant told him it was OK for two men to show affection toward each other, and that he shouldn't feel "weird" about it.

He said Bimson gave him clothes, allowance, paid for football expenses and provided things "parents would give their kids."

The witness said he kept the molestation a secret until 2001, when he mentioned it to an older boy who lived at the home in Arizona.

Branden said he told his wife about Bimson after speaking to his pastor about a year ago.

The witness said he and two other boys drove to San Diego at some point and moved into a condominium.

Another alleged victim, Steven G., said he was about 13 when he met Bimson in 1997 at a school club car wash.

About a year later, he said he staying at Bimson's home in San Diego preparing for a trip to Mexico when the defendant came over to the side of his cot and rubbed his back.

"He said, 'There's something I want to show you,'" the witness said. "I said no. I just told him no. I stopped it right then and there. I said, 'I don't even let my dad touch me.'"

Steven, now 23, testified that Bimson responded, "You've got to learn to trust people."

The witness said that night and two subsequent days in Mexico with the defendant were the three most uncomfortable days of his life.

Another alleged victim, Sam B., testified that he met Bimson in 1996 or 1997 when he was around 13.

The witness, now 24, said Bimson didn't immediately let him move in, but said it was OK after he accompanied the defendant on a business trip to Tucson, where he was molested in a hotel room.

The witness said he moved to San Diego with the defendant in June 1998 and was molested the first night. He said he was continually molested until the year 2000, but didn't tell anyone of the sexual abuse because he "was scared of people knowing."

A woman he was dating in 2004 helped him talked about the sexual abuse, he testified.

After he turned 18 and moved out of Bimson's home, Sam confronted the defendant in a police-monitored call, but Bimson denied any wrongdoing, Sam testified.

He said Bimson suggested getting together over breakfast and discussing the matter.

San Diego police Detective Dianna Webb testified that Sam's older brother, Nick, told her that Bimson molested him when they lived in Arizona.

The detective said Bimson left suicide notes before leaving for Las Vegas, saying he had financial and medical problems and no longer wanted to live.

On the way back from Nevada, Bimson said going to prison would be like a "death warrant" for him, Webb testified.

Two of Bimson's nephews, now in their 40s, told the detective that their uncle molested them when they were young.

One of the nephews and Nick called Child Protective Services when they learned Bimson had applied to be a foster parent, the detective testified.

Bimson eventually got his foster parenting license in 2003.

Outside court, defense attorney Samantha Mann told reporters that Bimson wanted everyone to know that he "vigorously" denied the charges and allegations and plans to use the criminal justice system to prove his innocence.

Superior Court Judge Charles Gill ordered Bimson to return to court Nov. 5 for arraignment on multiple counts of committing a lewd act on a child and oral copulation on a child.

Deputy District Attorney Wendy Patrick Mazzarella said she plans to add a "one-strike" sex allegation that could lead to a life sentence for Bimson if he's convicted.

Bimson remains in custody in lieu of $750,000 bail.