Former worker's trial set

By Jina Tedmori
Daily Forty-Niner

After a preliminary hearing in the Municipal Court, a former Cal State Long Beach employee is scheduled for a jury trial Jan. 11.

Fountain Valley resident Roger McGookin, 63, worked in the Educational Psychology Clinic until his arrest last summer. He was brought up on six felony charges, including five for lewd conduct with a minor, and one for distributing pornographic material to a minor under 14 years of age.

"All felonies start out in Municipal Court where the trial is assessed, it then goes to Superior Court," Lesley Klein, deputy district attorney said. "If a case can be solved without a jury it is done so, and if not, a jury date is set."

A jury trial date was set because the case was unable to be resolved in the preliminary hearing Oct 6.

"Normally, they would break it down to a misdemeanor. It's up to the courts and judges," said Sgt. Steve Filippini, a spokesman for the Long Beach Police Department. "But because there's so many counts, he might serve a lot of time."

The employees of the CSULB Educational Psychology Clinic work with students from surrounding schools that need assistance, said Julie Balandran, psychology clinic employee.

"The clinic recruits students and does testing, counseling and remediation," Balandran said. "If a parent suspects learning disabilities the clinic will help any student age 7-to-17. There is also counseling if he or she needs anger management."