Man Charged in Sexual Abuse of Boys

A Palos Verdes man has been charged with 37 counts of sexually abusing eight runaway boys from the Van Nuys area, authorities said.

Russell A. Kraus, 27, is accused of luring the youths, ages 13 to 17, in recent months to a Van Nuys apartment where he lived at the time by offering them Nintendo games and drugs, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Carol Fisch. “The boys were mostly runaways,” Fisch said.

Fisch said police began investigating when one of the boys filed a complaint. Kraus was arrested Sunday night at his parents’ home in Palos Verdes, where he had recently moved, Fisch said. Officers found sexually explicit photographs of young boys, marijuana and LSD, the prosecutor said.

At a brief session in Van Nuys Municipal Court on Monday, Kraus’ arraignment was scheduled for Aug. 12 and he was ordered jailed in lieu of $1-million bail.

Kraus, who police said was unemployed, was charged with 16 counts of engaging in a lewd act with a child, 11 counts of furnishing drugs to minors, six counts of oral copulation with a minor, three counts of photographing minors in sexual acts and one count of possessing LSD with intent to distribute the drug.

Kraus’ attorney, Gerald S. Tarlow of Torrance, declined to discuss the case.