Son of Molestation Suspect Is Arrested

The son of a former Northridge private-school operator awaiting trial on child molestation charges has himself been arrested on suspicion of kidnaping and molesting a 3-year-old girl, Los Angeles police said Friday.

Authorities said, however, that they do not believe that Thursday’s arrest of Edwin Allen Greenup, 29, of Granada Hills is in any way connected to the case of his father, Campbell Hugh Greenup, whose trial on 21 counts of child molestation is scheduled for Sept. 3 in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Detective Sandra Palmer said the younger Greenup was arrested about 6:20 p.m. after several witnesses pointed him out to police as he drove by the Northridge apartment building where the alleged kidnaping and molestation had occurred minutes before. His arraignment is set for Tuesday in San Fernando Municipal Court.

He was being held in lieu of $250,000 bail.

Palmer said the younger Greenup also was wanted by the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Department, which, in February, 1984, issued a warrant for his arrest on suspicion of indecent exposure, marijuana possession and “performing degrading, immoral or vicious practices in front of children.”

His father, 57, was arrested in April, 1984, and accused of molesting eight girls who were students at his now-closed elementary school. Many of the parents of children who once attended the school have rallied to his support.

Lt. Vance Proctor, head of the LAPD’s juvenile division, said investigators will take a second look at the Campbell Greenup case in light of Edwin Greenup’s arrest. But, he said, the initial inquiry did not disclose illegal activities by any of Greenup’s relatives in connection with the father’s case. “I’m fairly confident that the first investigation was sufficient,” Proctor said.

Incident Witnessed

Police said Edwin Greenup was arrested after witnesses saw a man take a little girl from in front of an apartment building in the 18000 block of Roscoe Boulevard and carry her to the rear of the building. She was molested there and ran back to her mother, Palmer said.

The police were called, and the arrest was made after witnesses spotted Greenup driving east on Roscoe and pointed him out to police as matching the description of the man they had seen take the child., Palmer said.

Attorney Edward Masry said Friday that Edwin Greenup has suffered “excruciating pain” from three neck fractures in the last 2 1/2 years.

He said the younger Greenup, a former “outstanding athlete” at Taft High School in Tarzana who attended community colleges sporadically and worked as a stunt man and at other jobs, fell while working as a tree trimmer in 1982 and broke his neck.

Once Was Paralyzed

At first paralyzed from the neck down, Greenup gradually regained the use of his limbs, Masry said. However, he intermittently wore a device on his head designed to straighten his spine and took medication to keep his right side from becoming paralyzed again.

In December, 1983, Greenup’s brother was appointed guardian over his financial affairs because Greenup had lost much of his memory, said Masry. Then, on Thanksgiving Day, 1984, Greenup fainted and fell through a window, again fracturing his neck, Masry said. He was once again hospitalized and rehabilitated.

Masry said his client’s third neck fracture occurred May 2, when a car in which he was riding struck another vehicle in Riverside County. He was hospitalized at Loma Linda hospital and the head device was removed just last week, Masry said.

Masry said he knew little of the San Mateo incident because Greenup had apparently forgotten about it. “He has no recollection of what happened in San Mateo,” Masry said.