SAN DIEGO -- Jury selection is scheduled to begin Friday for the trial of a 73-year-old man charged with six counts of child molestation involving three family members, one of them 6 years old.

Francisco Javier Esquivel, a legal resident but not a U.S. citizen, was arrested in September 2008 and, if convicted, faces deportation upon his release.

Esquivel faces up to 18 years in prison if convicted, said Deputy District Attorney Dan Link.

The alleged molestations came to light in June 2007, when a then-6-year-old relative of the defendant told her mother that Esquivel was touching her inappropriately, police said.

The alleged abuse occurred during family's visits to Esquivel's home in Bay View Heights, according to authorities.

The mother went to police, who questioned family members and found others who alleged Esquivel had also molested them when they were young, according to San Diego police. Those alleged victims are now adults.

Police estimated the alleged abuse may have been occurring for as long as two decades.

Esquivel was being held in lieu of $2.7 million bail.