The Orlando Sentinel from Orlando, Florida • 86

The Orlando Sentinel VOLUSM TUESDAY, May 29, 1990 Sen offender seeks retrial Convicted man says 1 1-year-old girl lied under oath about attack By Constance Johnson OF THE SENTINEL STAFF Technical errors committed during the trial prejudiced jurors against Russell. Assistant State Attorney Ivan Clements, who prosecuted the case, said the motion was standard procedure and there was no truth to the claim that the girl committed perjury. But Russell said it is implausible that he is capable of sexual battery. "I'm a con man, not a child molester," he said during an interview at the Volusia County Branch Jail last month. Russell, 51, who faces life imprisonment for the sexual battery charge and a maximum of 15 years for a charge of lewd and lascivious behavior involving a child, is scheduled for sentencing June 15.

The girl and Russell were residents of Sunny Please see RUSSELL, 7 DELAND Garlon Houston Russell, who was convicted last month of sexual battery on an 11-year-old girl, says he deserves a new trial because the child lied under oath. Today his attorney, Pamela Brown, will ask Circuit Court Judge Patrick Kennedy during a hearing to throw out the conviction or find Russell guilty of a lesser offense. Among the reasons cited by Brown: The girl committed perjury when she testified she did not wrestle with Russell. Russell did not receive a fair and impartial trial. The sexual battery charge was unfounded because penetration never occurred.

MARK LOSEYSENTINEL Garlon Houston Russell admits to being a con man but says he would never attack a child. Qs Guis ftDne year a IhiyG'G'ocairD hots? Experts: Wait until next week for prediction By Rick Tonyan OF THE SENTINEL STAFF The breaking up of the African drought particularly worries Hal Ger-rish, hurricane forecaster at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. "There are powerful forces being built up out there. The '90s may be the decade for hurricanes," Gerrish said. "Nature is putting big bundles of energy together.

People should be prepared." He said an accident of geography has helped Volusia avoid a direct hit so far, but there is no guarantee that the county's record will hold up through Nov. 30, when the season ends. The county sits directly west of a stationary high-pressure area in the Atlantic. Hurricanes usually skirt around that area. Also, the state's coastline curves inland by Volusia, making counties to the north or south easier targets for a mid-Atlantic storm.

Hurricane David in 1979 was the last to come close. It struck Brevard County and passed off the shore of Volusia. Donna was Volusia's most destruc- Please see STORMS, 6 DAYTONA BEACH As hurricane season begins, civil defense workers and weather forecasters are keeping tabs on weather patterns half a world away that could help determine conditions along Florida's east coast. Abnormally warm water temperatures in the Pacific near the equator are creating a weather condition called El Nino, which reduces the chances for hurricanes. But rain is falling on northwestern Africa, breaking an 18-year drought.

Researchers believe that rainfall may lead to the formation of storm systems that drift west into the Atlantic and create conditions for large, powerful hurricanes. Hurricane season begins Friday, nobody knows whether El Nino will keep this year quiet or an African storm system will create a killer hurricane. Researchers will wait until next week to announce their predictions for the number of storms this year. Even then, predictions give no clues as to how strong the storms will be. Nor will anybody be able to say whether any storm will threaten Volusia County.

No powerful hurricane has hit the county head-on. That is the kind of historical record that is made to be broken by the forces of nature, civil defense administrators and hurricane researchers say. The full story Hurricane survival tips 6 How storms are ranked 6 Emergency bus stops 6 Volusia County 6 Evacuations routes 7 The Charleston, S.C. area was hit hard last year by Hurricane Hugo. Charleston has been struck by 8 so far this century; Volusia has been the target of 5..