Teen Molester Sentenced to 15 Years to Life

SANTA ANA — An Irvine teenager diagnosed as a pedophile was sentenced Friday to 15 years to life imprisonment for molesting three young girls and attempting to attack a fourth.

Drew David Lambert, 16, was tried as an adult for the attacks in December 1994 and April and August 1995.

In one case, he dragged a 6-year-old girl into the restroom of a Laguna Niguel bookstore and attempted to rape her, said prosecutor Rosanne Froeberg. In another instance, he lured two girls into the bathroom of a local pizza parlor, fondled them and exposed himself, Froeberg said.

In the last incident before his arrest, he tried to coax a young girl to the back of another bookstore, but the girl ran away and told her father, Froeberg said.

The girls and their families are struggling to cope with the attacks. One girl is terrified of teenage males. Another has trouble passing the store where she was assaulted, Froeberg said.

“There is a lost sense of security here, and you can’t just get that back,” Froeberg said.

Lambert’s attorney could not be reached for comment.

Lambert was linked to the crimes by fingerprint evidence, including prints left on a copy of “The Ultimate Dog Book,” a prop he used to get the attention of one of his victims.

Under the sentence handed down Friday by Superior Court Judge Richard M. Aronson, Lambert will first go to the California Youth Authority, where he will receive treatment in a rehabilitation program.

Lambert will later go to prison and remain there until authorities deem him no longer a threat to the community.

The sentence is part of the new “one strike” law that went into effect in November 1994 and cracks down on sex offenders by keeping them in custody for indeterminate periods.