Local News in Brief : Westminster : Molestation Suspect Faces 2 More Counts

James Allen Hydrick, a martial arts expert and reputed escape artist who says he has psychic powers, was charged Friday with two more counts of felony child molestation involving a Huntington Beach boy.

Those counts bring to 13 the number of molestation charges filed against Hydrick, who also faces one count of failing to register as a sex offender and one count of misdemeanor child molestation.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Koski said all the molestation charges involve a small group of Huntington Beach boys Hydrick allegedly befriended while he was living there last year.

Hydrick was extradited from Georgia this month and remains in protective custody in Orange County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail. Police said he is being kept in protective custody because he has reportedly escaped from at least three jails.

Police said he regularly took the boys home with him and taught them tricks in exchange for sexual favors.

Hydrick, 29, has denied the charges in interviews with reporters. Municipal Judge J. Michael Beecher Friday continued Hydrick’s arraignment until Friday.

Hydrick is a native of South Carolina and was featured on the cover of Inside Kung-Fu magazine in November. He claims to have psychic powers that allow him to whip up hurricane-force winds and move heavy objects across a room using only his mind.