Molestation Charges Dropped; Other Charges Send San Bruno Man To Prison

A San Bruno man who escaped sexual assault charges but pleaded guilty to lesser felony charges, the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office said Monday.

Rohit Dhir, 31, pleaded no contest in July 2011 to sexually assaulting his 15-year-old stepdaughter. But Dhir's attorney filed a writ of coram nobis - essentially  an order to restore, so far as possible, an erroneously convicted party to a pre-conviction state  - causing Superior Court Judge Jonathan Karesh to throw out the original case and .

Dhir didn't face any sexual assault charges for the new case after prosecutors reduced the charges and the victim decided that she just wanted to get on with her life, District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.

On Friday, Dhir pleaded no contest to preventing his stepdaughter from testifying in court and false imprisonment. Karesh sentenced him to three years and eight months in state prison.

According to the district attorney's office, Dhir began molesting his stepdaughter when they lived in India. The molestation, which included fondling and oral copulation, continued when the family emigrated to San Bruno, until November 2007.

Throughout the case, Dhir's attorney denied all the charges and claimed that the stepdaughter made up a story because Dhir was opposed to her getting an education and wanted her to have an arranged marriage.