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Christopher Charles Darling pleaded guilty last month to a charge of committing a lewd act on a child 14 or 15 years old. The defendant sometimes stayed with girl's family in San Marcos, according to authorities.

An affidavit prepared in support of an arrest warrant indicated that a witness told sheriff's investigators she walked in on Darling as he molested the girl on Jan. 29. The girl's father confronted Darling and punched him in the face, and the defendant immediately fled, Detective Helen Williams wrote.

A month later, the defendant wrote an email to the girl's mother asking for forgiveness but blaming the victim -- who has the mental capacity of a kindergartner -- for what happened, according to Williams.

Darling was arrested in May in Washington state and brought back to San Diego County to be prosecuted.