A Lancaster man has been found guilty of directing a teenage boy to perform sexual acts with a teenage family member and then joining in, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced.

Jurors deliberated for about two hours before convicting Richard Michael Kelso, 35, yesterday of three counts of contact with a minor for sexual offense, two counts of lewd act upon a child and one count of inducing a child to engage in a lewd act.

Sentencing is set for Jan. 13 in Department A21 of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, Antelope Valley Branch. Kelso faces a possible maximum sentence of 12 years in state prison.

Deputy District Attorney Jon Hatami prosecuted the case.

Kelso, who owns a private investigator business in Lancaster, was a volunteer and ran several youth groups at a local Catholic church, the prosecutor said. In mid-2013, Kelso chose one boy, who was 15 at the time, from one of his confirmation groups and arranged for him to perform sexual acts with a teenage girl. He also participated in the sex acts, the prosecutor added.

The evidence at trial also revealed that Kelso had chosen another teenage boy from his confirmation group approximately four years prior, and arranged for that boy to perform sexual acts with another teenage family member.

The case was investigated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Special Victims Bureau.

Los Angeles County District Attorney / November 4, 2015