GARDEN GROVE : Identity of Videotaped Boys Sought

Police are trying to identify boys as young as 10 who were shown taking off their clothes in a videotape confiscated from a convicted child molester.

The videotape was found during a search of the Garden Grove home of Kim Morgan Harper, 43, who was arrested in January for parole violation, according to Police Sgt. Mike Handfield, the head of a special unit that investigated the case.

Handfield said that the Orange County district attorney’s office has filed child molestation charges against Harper, who is being held in Chino state prison while awaiting trial. If convicted, Harper could face 13 years in prison, Handfield said.

Harper was the first suspect arrested by a special unit of the Garden Grove Police Department that was created in January to target dangerous criminals and sex offenders, Handfield said.

Handfield said that Harper registered as a sex offender with the Garden Grove police late last year following his parole from a child molestation sentence. He was immediately put under limited surveillance, Handfield said.

Police arrested Harper in front of a liquor store in January when he was seen talking to a child, which is a parole violation, Handfield said.

In the search of Harper’s home, police found the tape showing boys exposing themselves to the camera and allowing Harper to fondle them, Handfield said.

He said that it was hard to identify the boys or determine where they live because Harper went to parks around Orange County, including Huntington Beach, Anaheim, Orange and Garden Grove.