Wife: Lawyer told husband, accused molester, to hide

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FORT MYERS, Fla. – When Charlotte Sanderson learned that her husband, a 70-year-old man, was facing child molestation charges, she sought the advise of a lawyer who instructed them to leave the country, according to her testimony on Wednesday.

Nelson Sanderson, 75
Nelson Sanderson, 75

Nelson “Sandy” Sanderson was picked up in Nicaragua four years later and detectives returned him to Lee County. He is facing two life sentences for the molestation of a child under the age of 12.

When asked why a lawyer would tell the couple to flee, Charlotte Sanderson said they feared Nelson would die if sentenced to time in jail.

“First of all, Sandy’s age. Sandy’s health — he said if police pick him up, he’s 70 years old. He’d last maybe six months incarcerated,” Charlotte Sanderson said.

She also alleges that the lawyer said her husband’s case would be forgotten if they hid long enough.

One of Nelson Sanderson’s alleged victims and her mother also took the stand before state prosecutors rested their case.

Nelson Sanderson is now 75. A jury is expected to reach a verdict in his case on Thursday.

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