LAKE COUNTY ? Radio talk show host Mark Alvin Knaup, 50, is facing charges of child molestation and sex with a minor.
The Lake County Sheriff”s Office arrested Knaup just after midnight Thursday morning on a warrant issued Tuesday. The charges on the warrant include four counts of committing lewd or lascivious acts with a child younger than 14 and one count of having sex with a child younger than 16.
“They are untrue,” Knaup said of the charges against him Thursday.
Knaup, who resides in Hidden Valley Lake, said he didn”t know what prompted the allegations and was in the process of hiring an attorney. He posted $30,000 bail and is due to appear in the South Civic Center in Clearlake on June 16 for arraignment.
Lake County Deputy District Attorney Ed Borg said the complaint against Knaup alleges the molestation began in December and continued for approximately a month into January. Borg prosecutes most of the office”s cases involving sex crimes.
“This is a fairly common procedure,” Borg said. “There was a complaint made to law enforcement, the case was investigated by the sheriff”s office, they turned it over to us, our office reviewed the complaint that was filed and we requested that a warrant be issued.”
Continued Borg, “The judge reviews the police reports, decides whether there is probable cause to believe the crime was committed and whether the person named is the person who did it. If that”s the case he signs it (the warrant), it”s entered into the system and the person is picked up on it.”
Knaup hosts an hour-long public affairs talk show on 88.1 KPFZ that deals with local, state and national politics, according to station manager Andy Weiss. Knaup confirmed he works at the Geysers, where according to his booking information, he is a power plant operator.
Knaup”s booking information can be found at www.lakesheriff.com.
“He”s an upstanding, great guy who has donated a lot of his time to the community. I have a lot of trouble believing that”s accurate information at this point,” Weiss said of the allegations against Knaup.
Borg said he could not comment on the alleged victim”s relationship to Knaup, or any other specific information about the case at this time.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com, or call her directly at 263-5636, ext. 37.
