Molestation Suspect Collapses, Dies During Arrest

A 55-year-old Meiners Oaks man died of an apparent heart attack Wednesday while being handcuffed after he was arrested on suspicion of molesting an 11-year-old Meiners Oaks girl.

The man, who authorities declined to identify until relatives are notified, was stopped Wednesday afternoon by Ventura County sheriff’s deputies as he was driving south on California 33 near Casitas Vista Road.

The suspect surrendered peacefully, said Lt. Larry Robertson, but then complained that the handcuffs were too tight. As deputies loosened them, the man collapsed, Robertson said.

He was taken by ambulance to Ventura County Medical Center in Ventura, where he was pronounced dead.

An autopsy is scheduled for today, Robertson said, but it is believed that the suspect was in poor health and under a doctor’s care for heart problems.

The 11-year-old girl alleged that the man, a family friend, molested her and took nude photographs of her last Friday when she visited him at his Meiners Oaks home. On Tuesday, she and her family contacted the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.

“An investigation is still ongoing, even though he is deceased,” Robertson said. “We want to know whether there were any other victims.”

The man was to be charged with child molestation, sex exploitation, attempted rape and penetration with a foreign object, Robertson said.

The man had no prior arrests in Ventura County. Sheriff’s deputies believe that he moved from the Northridge area in the past several years.