The Premier's physician son, Kevin Brown, is expected to go on trial early next year, more than two-and-a-half years after first allegations surfaced that he molested female patients.

The prosecutor handling the case acknowledged the lengthy delay, but told this newspaper it is not considered unreasonable.

Brown, 39, is facing 33 felony sex charges spanning a five-year period, with 12 alleged victims including a 15-year-old girl and an undercover vice Police officer. He denies the charges, but could face up to 27 years in prison if convicted.

He was first arrested on July 8, 2008, after a suspected assault on an 18-year-old female at his office. After posting $50,000 bail, he was arrested again on July 21 after allegations of sexual assault on other patients surfaced.

He obtained release on $4 million bail after prosecutors argued he was a flight risk due to his connections to Bermuda through his father, Premier Ewart Brown. He was arraigned in Los Angeles County Superior Court on February 25, 2009.

Part of the reason for the delay in bringing the case to trial was that Brown parted ways with two defence lawyers during the course of last year, after they'd initially agreed to represent him. He has now secured the services of defence lawyer Edi Faal.

Giving an update after a pre-trial hearing last Wednesday, Deputy District Attorney Rouman Ebrahim said: "The next date is December 2, 2010. If there are no further time waivers, the case would have to go to trial within 47 days of that date.

"There are many reasons for the delay. First, the defendant is out of custody and much more likely to agree to waive time since he is not sitting in jail while the case is continued. Second, there is a large number of potential witnesses that will be called in this case and therefore the case will take a long time to try meaning three to four weeks.

"Therefore, the case has been assigned to a 'long-cause' court which generally is able to spend more time than regular 'calendar' courts on the trial.

"However, because of the large number of cases that go through our long-cause courts, sometimes it becomes a challenge to try a case in a quick manner. Also, cases in which a defendant is in custody sitting in jail while waiting for trial have statutory priority over cases in which the defendant is out of custody."

Brown, who is a US citizen, remains on bail pending the next court hearing.