Settlement talks ongoing in Gunnarsson molestation case

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A possible plea deal is in the works for a Ridgecrest man accused of sexually abusing a child and who is already serving a life term in prison for killing his girlfriend .

An attorney representing Daniel Gunnarsson on Wednesday asked that Gunnarsson’s trial on allegations he sexually abused a minor be postponed because settlement negotiations were ongoing.

Gunnarsson, 24, is due back in court Aug. 7.

In October, Gunnarrson was sentenced to 25 years to life, plus two years and four months, for the May 18, 2021, murder of Kathryn Pham. He dated Pham, 21, about a month before killing her in a garage at his stepfather’s home on Skylark Avenue.

Sometime after the sentencing hearing, the alleged molestation victim told deputies Gunnarsson forced her to engage in sex acts on numerous occasions from 2016 to 2021. He’s facing 11 felony counts.

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