LAPD Assailed for Not Telling Schools About Serial Molester : Crime: Authorities say they only realized last week that one man was responsible for 22 incidents.

Parents descended on elementary schools in the San Fernando Valley on Tuesday, alarmed by reports that a serial molester has assaulted 22 children since February near schools from Canoga Park to North Hollywood.

Many of the parents--and some school officials--criticized Los Angeles police for leaving them in the dark about the menace of the wide-ranging assailant.

“It’s becoming almost a frenzy at this point,” said Sheryl Walters, principal of Sunny Brae Avenue Elementary School in Canoga Park. “Everybody is calling. People are saying, ‘Did you hear? Did you read?’ They’re worried.”

Police developed a composite sketch of the molester in August and concluded at least by early last week that a single man was responsible for 22 attacks over 10 months. But they did not notify Los Angeles Unified School District officials until Thursday and did not release the information to the news media until Monday.

“When there are crimes around schools, the schools should be notified and then take appropriate action . . . to ensure safety,” said Harriet Sculley, president of the 31st District Parent Teacher Student Assn., which covers the Valley.

“I think if any child was harmed because that didn’t happen, I think that’s tragic,” she said.

Police said they notified schools as soon as the pattern of assaults was clearly established. The assailant has stalked children between the ages of 7 and 17. He distracts a victim with a question and grabs the child’s crotch area, police said. Most of the victims have been girls. Police believe the man is responsible for one rape.

Cmdr. John Moran, acting commanding officer of all Valley divisions, said detectives from the three divisions began talking after the most serious attack, the Nov. 3 rape of a 9-year-old Fullbright Elementary School student who was dragged into an apartment building laundry room on her way to school.

“It wasn’t until last week that this pattern was put together with a common suspect that went back to last February,” Moran said. “As soon as we knew what was up, we notified (the school district).

“It wasn’t soon enough--it’s never soon enough,” Moran conceded. “The problem just didn’t come together, because three detective divisions were on it.”

Valley detectives also insisted that the best tactic is to trap the molester before there is widespread publicity.

Hundreds of parents called schools or showed up to escort children home Tuesday. School officials said they notified Valley elementary schools last week after learning about the molester. Many school officials said they reported the information to parents.

Many parents criticized police for not reporting the molester earlier.

“I think (police) should have said a little more,” said Stella Eckstein, who was picking up her 8-year-old daughter at Fullbright school. “We have to protect our children. You feel so insecure.”

“It makes me very angry because we are not getting enough information,” said Terry Ortiz, as she rocked her 3-week-old son and scanned the Fullbright yard for her 7-year-old daughter at the close of school.

Ortiz said her daughter had been walking to and from school with older classmates until warnings about the molester.

Fullbright Principal James Grover said a parent told him about the Nov. 3 rape.

“I had not heard of other incidents,” Grover said. “That was one of the things that has bothered our parents here at school. We did not know about these 22 incidents.”

Times staff writer Abigail Goldman contributed to this story.