Former MP recreation leader headed for prison

More than 20 years in state prison are ahead for Tyrone Darnell Williams, a former recreation leader for the city of Menlo Park who pleaded “no contest” to charges of sexually molesting his young female cousins when he shared a Menlo Park house with them and their grandmother in the 1990s.

In a plea bargain that guaranteed no more than 26 years in prison, Williams, 29, did not contest 10 counts of lewd behavior, including substantial sexual conduct, with a child under the age of 14, said Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.

The plea bargain avoided the possibility of a life sentence if the case had gone to trial, Wagstaffe said. Under the terms of the agreement, Williams will have to serve at least 85 percent (about 22 years) of his sentence before he is eligible for parole, Wagstaffe said.

The sentencing hearing before Judge Clifford Cretan is scheduled for 8:45 a.m. on Feb. 6 in San Mateo County Superior Court. Williams remains in custody on a bail of $1 million.

Williams once worked at the Onetta Harris Community Center in the Belle Haven neighborhood of Menlo Park, but none of the crimes he was accused of occurred in the context of his work at the community center, said Deputy District Attorney Melissa McKowan.

By Almanac staff