Man Held 4 Days in Molestation Case Freed; Police Defend Arrest : Crime: Former suspect says he was singled out because he is black. Police say he matched descriptions by victims accosted in Valley.

A man arrested as a prime suspect in a series of San Fernando Valley child molestations was released Tuesday after four days in custody, saying he was singled out by police because he is black.

“Here I am! Here I am!” shouted a tearful James Elliott Singletary, 45, as he collapsed into the arms of family members who had gathered outside the Van Nuys courthouse lock-up facility. “Oh God, thank you! Thank you!”

Singletary, an epileptic and a born-again Christian, then sagged to the ground. He lay there spread-eagled for several minutes, shaking and crying. He then hugged his wife, son, daughters and other relatives as they huddled around him.

“God knows I would never do anything like what they said I did,” he told them, choking back sobs. “God knows. He is in control of all.”

Singletary said he was kept in a cold solitary confinement cell where he wrapped his arms in toilet paper to ward off the chill. He said he was advised that he would be released only moments before he was freed and that police did not apologize for his imprisonment.

“They just said you’re going home,” he said.

Los Angeles police confirmed Tuesday that they now believe Singletary is not the serial molester they have been seeking in connection with 32 incidents since February. The incidents, mostly involving schoolgirls, include a rape on Nov. 3.

“We’re basically letting the schools know we haven’t gotten him yet,” Lt. Joseph Garcia said. “We have tips coming in from the public, and all of them are being investigated. But we have no specific suspect.”

Police defended Friday’s arrest of Singletary, saying his name was released because it is public record and was given out only after a request from an unidentified media outlet. “We don’t normally release that information,” Los Angeles Police Lt. John Dunkin said, “unless there is an inquiry.”

At least four other suspects have been brought in for questioning and released in recent weeks. But they were not arrested and their names were not released.

In Singletary’s case, police had good reason to believe he was the serial molester, Deputy Police Chief Martin H. Pomeroy said in an interview. Not only did he and his burgundy Chevrolet Caprice match descriptions given by the victims, but he was reported seen “loitering and cruising near an elementary school” shortly before he was stopped, said Pomeroy, who commands all Valley police divisions.

Pomeroy said there was evidence that made Singletary a prime suspect, but that he could not comment on it because he might tip off the real molester.

“We would have been derelict in our duty not to arrest him and conduct a follow-up investigation,” Pomeroy said. “I regret the position this placed Mr. Singletary in, but it was truly unavoidable.

“It is frustrating that we have not been able to capture this suspect yet,” Pomeroy added. “However, that frustration has not translated into our conducting a witch hunt or violating the rights of private citizens.”

When he walked out of jail Tuesday afternoon, Singletary, holding his unlaced sneakers in one hand and other personal effects in a plastic bag in the other, stood for a moment looking skyward. Then, he began to weep.

“I feel so terrible, so embarrassed,” he said. “I’m hurt.

“I’m a man who tries to keep children off drugs. And I’ve been in here all this time, where they treat you like a dog,” he said. “And all the pressure. I just have to thank God I’m finally out.”

Moments later, when Singletary was reunited with his family, he recounted his arrest and questioning.

“Oh man, it’s been rough,” he told family members.

Singletary, who runs a business that manufactures shirts, calendars and other items bearing anti-drug messages, contended that police arrested him because he is black.

His epilepsy sometimes makes him look nervous and sound confused, he said. He always wears eyeglasses--unlike the police composite sketches of the molester. And unlike the descriptions of the molester, one of Singletary’s eyes is slightly askew.

He said he was stopped near Victory Boulevard and Balboa Street by officers who said his tires were bald. He said he was told that there was an outstanding warrant for a traffic violation, but he insisted Tuesday that he had paid the ticket in question.

“The next thing I know, 4 1/2 hours later, is that I’ve been arrested for child molesting,” he said.

Family members said authorities did not ask them until Monday whether Singletary had an alibi. They said they were either with him or talking to him on the phone Friday when the molester stalked children at two locations.

Even after he was released, Singletary said, his troubles were not over. His car had been towed to a police impound lot, where attendants wanted $140 in storage fees to release it, he said.

“Now they say I’ve got to pay just to get my car back,” he said. “I don’t have the money and I need my car.”