LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Stanley Marsh 3, the eccentric millionaire artist best known for his "Cadillac Ranch" art display along an interstate in the Texas Panhandle, was charged Wednesday with 11 felony counts of molesting children.

The 74-year-old turned himself in at a county jail after an arrest warrant was issued, accusing him of molesting two teenagers in 2010. His arrest follows the filing of several lawsuits against him for allegedly paying 10 teens for sex acts.

The charges could go before a grand jury in the next few weeks or soon after the first of the year, special prosecutor Matt Powell said.

"This is the beginning of the process," Powell said. "This is what we felt like we needed to do."

According to criminal complaints filed in Potter County, Marsh had the teens engage in sexual acts, including masturbation and oral sex, on three days in 2010. He was charged with six counts of child sexual assault and five counts of sexual performance by a child.

Marsh's criminal attorneys, Paul Nugent and Heather Peterson of Houston, denied the charges, saying in a statement that the teens in the civil cases waited until Marsh suffered a massive stroke last year to move forward with a plan "to become multimillionaires" by signing with a Houston personal injury attorney.

"The investigation into the group's claims is far from complete," the attorneys wrote in their statement. "There should be no premature rush to judgment. Stanley Marsh 3 is not guilty of the group's allegations, and will fight as vigorously as his declining health permits."

The six lawsuits claim Marsh paid the boys, ages 15 and 16, for sexual acts. One claimed that Marsh provided him drugs and alcohol, bought him two cars, and paid him at several points during a year in sums of as much as $10,000.

Marsh's civil attorney, Kelly Utsinger, has denied those allegations. He did not immediately return a call seeking comment on Wednesday's criminal complaints. Continued...