Attacks Could Signal Return of Valley Molester

Los Angeles police investigating four recent child molestations in the west San Fernando Valley said Friday that the attacks may have been committed by the so-called Valley molester, a man who allegedly attacked 32 children in 1993 before dropping out of sight.

Police Detective Bob Howe said four attacks--three on Dec. 29 and another on Dec. 12--loosely match the method, as well as description, of the man who evaded an intense police and media manhunt two years ago.

Howe stopped short of tying the incidents directly to the Valley molester, but said, “We’re throwing a real wide lasso this time.” Police were criticized sharply in 1993 for not notifying parents and school officials of their hunt for the molester until more than 20 children, ranging in age from 6 to 13, had been molested.

In addition, investigators are trying to determine whether the man suspected in the December attacks may also have molested several other Valley children during September and October. The children’s description of the attacker is similar, although the methods varied widely.

Howe said getting an accurate and consistent description of the suspect is difficult because children have trouble judging age, height and weight. He agreed that anyone beyond junior high school age is considered old by youngsters.

For instance, victims of the recent attacks--who also range in age from 6 to 13--described the man who attacked them as a balding African American in his mid-20s to mid-50s. Descriptions of his weight range from 145 to 210 pounds, and his height is described from 5 feet 7 to 6 feet 2.

Police are describing the attacker as a man in his 30s or 40s, about 6 feet tall and 170 pounds. Authorities also believe he may have a graying mustache and goatee. “It’s a pretty broad parameter,” Howe said.

The December attacks were in a Tarzana neighborhood near Reseda Boulevard and Hatteras Street. The attacker approached the children as they played in the early evening near their apartment complexes.

On Dec. 29, the attacker assaulted three children in two separate incidents, first molesting two children and then another 15 minutes later. On Dec. 12, another child was attacked. Howe said the attacks involved fondling but would not elaborate.

In one instance, the molester threatened a child with a folding knife, Howe said.

Local educators and the Los Angeles Unified School District police were told of the recent attacks and told to be on guard, Howe said. In 1993, police were criticized for failing to inform school officials of the string of molestations until late in the year.

Howe said police must weigh the benefit of releasing information about ongoing investigations. On one hand, publicity may prompt a molester to be extra vigilant and evade police detection. But parents also ought to be warned to keep an eye out for someone stalking children in their neighborhood, he said.

Shortly after a crush of media coverage about the Valley molester in 1993, the attacks stopped. “Usually, when the press hits, these guys want to hide for a while,” Howe said.

For almost two months in late 1993, Valley parents and teachers were gripped by fear as news of a yearlong string of molestations filtered through schools and day care centers. More than 100,000 leaflets were distributed door to door. Parents lined up after school to pick up their children rather than let them walk home.

Despite the notoriety of the case, police were hampered in their efforts to identify the molester by a lack of laws to track the whereabouts of registered sex offenders and by antiquated computer databases unable to sort suspects by their victim preferences or method of attack.

In the case of the Valley molester, Howe said, the attacks occurred at different times of day, in different places, involving both boys and girls in a wide range of age and ethnicities. “It’s hard to see a pattern,” he said.

Several men with broad similarities to the description of the molester were detained by police, but all were released. One man, James Elliot Singletary of Encino, sued the police in federal court, alleging he was arrested only because he is black.

The case is pending.