Day Camp Director Surrenders in Molestation Case

A day camp director suspected of committing sex crimes against two boys and another adult male has turned himself in, authorities said Tuesday.

William Allen Clemens, 29, of Simi Valley arrived with his attorney about 3 p.m. Monday at the East County Sheriff’s Station, Det. Kent Adlof said.

Clemens was booked into Ventura County Jail on suspicion of three felony counts of child molestation, one misdemeanor count of child annoying and two misdemeanor counts of indecent exposure. He immediately posted $20,000 bail and was released, jail officials said.

Charges could be filed by Friday, Deputy Dist. Atty. Patricia Murphy said. Clemens would be arraigned Tuesday in Ventura Municipal Court, Murphy said.

Clemens has been director of the Young Set Club in Thousand Oaks since 1996. He began at the camp as a counselor in 1993, camp spokeswoman Susan Blake said.

“I think most parents are supportive of him,” Blake said Tuesday. “We’re all pretty surprised with the whole investigation, but we’ve been cooperating as much as we can.”

The year-round camp, at 400 Rolling Oaks Drive, provides all-day swimming and other recreation to 150 children ages 5 to 12.

The case began after school officials received a complaint and alerted sheriff’s investigators. Clemens was placed on administrative leave by the camp Dec. 15, Blake said.

The allegations became public Jan. 15 after police confirmed there was an investigation at the camp.

More than 50 people were interviewed by the Sheriff’s Department as part of the investigation, during which detectives learned that Clemens could have come into contact with more than 400 children at the center.

Early this month, investigators said they expected to make an arrest within days. But Clemens was out of state with relatives for much of the month, delaying action on the case, Adlof said.

“We were trying to negotiate with him to come in, but there were a lot of obstacles along the way,” said Sgt. Dave Paige, who supervised the sheriff’s inquiry.

Neither Clemens nor his attorney, Philip Remington Dunn of Thousand Oaks, could be reached Tuesday.

Investigators declined to give details of the allegations, apart from saying all the potential charges involve two boys, with the exception of one count of indecent exposure in which an adult male is the alleged victim.

Some of the incidents date back several years, while others reportedly happened as late as December, Adlof said.

The reaction was muted at the camp Tuesday.

“It’s not going to be a surprise to most people. Everybody here knows about it,” one parent said after dropping off his children at the camp. He declined to give his name to protect his children’s privacy.

The Thousand Oaks man said parents were notified in a letter last month from detectives that Clemens was being investigated. “I don’t want to believe it,” the man said. “I’ll allow the judicial process to determine if there’s any reason for charges to be filed, but I’m willing to believe he’s innocent until proven guilty.”

Camp workers, notified of the arrest at a meeting Tuesday, were braced for attention from reporters. A “No Trespassing” sign was placed at the parking lot entrance and camp officials posted a sign warning parents, “The Media Is Back.”

Concern about what public scrutiny may bring is normal when molestation charges rock day-care centers, according to Frances Caple, associate dean of the USC School of Social Work.

“I think the first response of parents is to protect their children from being flooded with questions,” said Caple, a former social worker. “People are asking, ‘How much did they know?’ and parents are balancing that with, ‘How much should they know?’ ”