Fliers Falsely Accuse Man of Molestation
Police are considering seeking criminal charges against the distributors of more than 50 fliers that falsely accuse a resident of being a child molester, an incident that some say shows how Megan’s Law can be abused.
The fliers, distributed early Friday to doorsteps in the Klamath River Circle neighborhood and posted on trees in a nearby park, claimed to be from “the California Coalition for the Imprisonment of Child Molesters.â€
According to a resident who received a flier and became suspicious of it, the computer-generated sheet included the name and photograph of a man who lives on Klamath River Circle and said: “Attention all mothers and fathers: This is not a face you want baby-sitting your children. This man should under no circumstances be allowed to be left alone with pre-adolescent children.â€
Fountain Valley Police Lt. K. Michael Hanrahan said some concerned neighbors called police about the fliers. Police officers checked and found that the man was “squeaky clean,†he said, and police aides were sent to the neighborhood to collect as many of the fliers as they could find.
Hanrahan said it is unclear whether a crime was committed, but he placed a call to the district attorney’s office Friday to explore the possibility of pursuing criminal charges. “We’re checking the fliers for fingerprints,†he said. “We’re pulling the stops out on this. We can’t have this sort of thing go on.â€
Even if the man had a criminal record for molestation, Hanrahan said, Megan’s Law allows only law enforcement officials to disseminate information about certain sex offenders.
Anyone with information on the distribution of the fliers should contact Hanrahan at (714) 965-4455.
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