Parents Confront Sex Offender

A group of anxious parents confronted a convicted child molester Friday morning, asking him to move from a house that is doors away from a Laguna Hills elementary school.

Lomarena Elementary officials, meanwhile, rushed into place a plan to improve campus security that includes locking classroom doors and tightening access to the school.

News of the felon’s arrival also prompted school officials to write a letter to parents encouraging caution.

Orange County sheriff’s deputies went door to door in the 25000 block of Earhart Road and surrounding neighborhoods Thursday, informing residents that Joel William Estes, 51, had recently moved onto the street after serving almost a year in prison for molesting a 14-year-old boy. Estes met the boy in an arcade, according to the notice, and offered him food and money for sex.

The notification was part of California’s Megan’s Law, which permits law enforcement agencies to warn communities when a sex offender moves nearby.

The fliers that deputies left described Estes as a “serious” sex offender, the second-most severe rank the California Department of Justice assigns.

Estes is not allowed within 100 yards of a school or video store. Estes’ home, which a family member owns, is 108 yards from Lomarena Elementary, sheriff’s officials said.

“Everybody feels he’s too close to the school,” said parent Dan Lenhart. “We know he has to be 100 yards away, but being a couple of feet beyond that.... It isn’t right.”

About 9:30 a.m. Friday, Lenhart and 10 other parents walked from the school and rang Estes’ doorbell. When Estes appeared, a relatively cordial exchange ensued, during which parents asked him to leave.

“There is lots of work in Las Vegas,” one said when Estes explained he had construction experience but couldn’t afford to move. “How about Death Valley?” another suggested.

Several others offered to raise money or help Estes find a job somewhere else.

Estes apologized for his crime, saying he had asked for “God’s forgiveness.” He said the victim had been a gang member.

Sheriff’s Department spokesman Jim Amormino said that unless Estes had invited them, the parents had violated a section of Megan’s Law that prohibits residents from harassing sex offenders.

Shortly after the confrontation, two dozen parents gathered at Lomarena, which serves 668 students in kindergarten through sixth grade. Deputies met with them to explain the law.

“It’s unfortunate, but there’s nothing you can do” to force Estes to leave, investigator Wade Walsvick told the crowd.

Principal Ed MacNevin told teachers about Estes on Thursday, ordering them to lock their classroom doors and to discuss general safety measures with students. A gate leading to the kindergarten classes was locked, forcing visitors to enter through the campus’ main office.

MacNevin said he had previously decided to strengthen security but put the measures into place immediately when informed of Estes’ arrival.

In a letter to parents sent home with students Friday, MacNevin reviewed the school’s safety plan, informed them of a sex offender living nearby and encouraged them to use “discretion in choosing off-campus after-school pickup areas for students.”

Officials from other Orange County school districts agreed with MacNevin’s actions and said schools had the obligation to inform parents.

“Obviously, if there is a known risk factor in the community, you have to take steps,” said Frank Boehler, administrator for child welfare at Orange Unified. “The safety you had yesterday, you don’t have today.”

Sallie Mooney said she would warn her children about Estes. “The sheriff told us that this guy is not the type to jump out and get your kid,” she said.

“But I’m telling my fourth-grader where the guy lives, showing him the picture on the flier of what he looks like.”