Hotline Helps Identify Child Molesters

A new state hotline has helped Ventura County residents identify 12 convicted child molesters who might pose a risk to the residents’ children, according to the state Department of Justice.

Nearly 6,000 people from across the state called the California’s Child Molester Identification Line during its first year of operation. Established July 3, 1995, the call-in service helps adults identify possible molesters. Of 5,788 calls, 497 resulted in the positive identification of convicted child molesters.

Among the positive identifications: two men who befriended a woman’s son and his classmates, a Little League coach, and a woman’s husband of two years who hid his past child-molestation convictions from her.

The names of 37,000 child molesters have been registered in the database. The names are added to the database once a convicted molester registers with the local law enforcement agency, which is required by law.

To check on an individual, a caller must be 18 years or older, provide the suspect’s full name and be able to explain how their child is at risk of being molested.

The caller must also be able to provide either the suspect’s address, driver’s license number, Social Security number or date of birth. The caller is then told whether the suspect is in the database and a listing of the individual’s sexual crimes.

There is a $10 charge for calling the number, which is 1-900-463-0400.

The Department of Justice has also created a Child Molester Sub-Directory that lists 900 of California’s “worst of the worst” child molesters. The directory is available to the public at more than 500 sheriff and police stations around the state, and provides photographs, descriptions and ZIP codes of convicted child molesters.