Parks Worker Accused of Molesting Boy : Police Arrest 2 Men in Reseda Case; Search for Other Victims

The arrest of two men, including a Los Angeles Recreation and Parks employee, in the molestation of a 6-year-old boy at Reseda Park has prompted police to investigate whether other children may have been victims, Los Angeles police said Wednesday.

Lars Juden, 38, a part-time recreation assistant at Reseda Park, and Ronald Ray Rudd, 39, who lived in a recreational vehicle near the park, were arrested Sunday after the victim’s mother reported the molestation to police, Detective Joe Diglio said.

Juden, of Reseda, pleaded not guilty in Van Nuys Municipal Court to two counts of felony child molestation Tuesday and was being held in lieu of $7,500 bail, authorities said. Rudd pleaded not guilty to six counts of the crime and was being held in lieu of $15,000 bail. Both were in County Jail.

Juden was involved in coaching and organizing recreational games involving young children who use the park during the summer. Rudd was a volunteer who helped city crews clean up the park.

Several Times

Authorities alleged that the boy was molested several times this summer in Rudd’s RV and in the park’s recreation center and office.

“We are following up to see if there are any other victims,” Diglio said. “This possibly could have been an isolated incident with only the people involved.”

The boy told police that he was molested in Rudd’s RV at least one time while a small girl was in the vehicle, Diglio said. Police located the 4-year-old girl but because of her age she was unable to communicate well and investigators have not been able to determine if she was molested, he said.

The detective said the suspects are believed to have befriended the boy and then manipulated him into initially not reporting the molestation to his parents.

The Department of Recreation and Parks is in the process of firing Juden from his 20-hour-a-week job as an assistant to the recreation director at the park, said spokesman Al Goldfarb. He said Juden had worked at the park at Victory and Reseda boulevards since 1983 and was mainly involved in coaching young boys in T-ball games, Goldfarb said.

Diglio said Juden had no prior arrest for molestation. “Our investigation revealed that Recreation and Parks would have had no way of knowing this would happen,” he said.