Hot Line to Identify Molesters Gets 213 Calls in First Week

A new state telephone hot line established to let parents and others identify convicted child molesters has received more than 200 calls in its first week and has lead to the identification of 19 registered child molesters, state Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren said Monday.

“This program is clearly working to protect kids,” Lungren said at a Capitol news conference. “With one week behind us, it is clear that the child molester identification hot line is . . . [working] to prevent sexual attacks against children.”

Lungren cited several examples of calls to the hot line, which began July 3 and is operated by the state Department of Justice. The idea behind the 900 number is to allow parents to find out whether their children are in contact with a convicted child molester.

Lungren said 213 calls were made in the first week. In one case, a grandmother called to check on her daughter’s husband, saying that she was concerned because her granddaughter had been acting strangely. The husband turned out to be a convicted registered child molester, Lungren said, and the grandmother is receiving counseling on how to approach the mother.

Another call came from a man who was considering an old friend’s request to move in with him, but wanted to check on the friend first because the caller’s children regularly visited him. The caller learned that his potential new roommate was a convicted registered child molester, Lungren said.

The attorney general urged Little League programs, Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops and other youth organizations to take advantage of the hot line program, which is the first of its kind in the United States. State officials estimate that about 40,000 convicted child molesters live in California.

The hot line was created by a 1994 bill sponsored by Assemblywoman Barbara Alby (R-Fair Oaks) that was approved by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Pete Wilson.

Callers are charged a $10 fee to pay hot line operating expenses, which will appear on their telephone bills. Callers can check on the status of two individuals per call.

The telephone number is 1-900-463-0400 and operates between 9:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, except holidays.

Callers must be older than 18, give their name and explain why they need to know about the person in question.

They also will be asked to provide the name of the suspected child molester and other identifying information, such as a home address, driver’s license number, date of birth, Social Security number and a description, such as height, weight, hair and eye color, ethnicity and scars and tattoos.