Accused O.C. Child Molester Is Caught
An alleged child molester who disappeared on the eve of his trial 3 1/2 years ago has been arrested in Israel and will be returned to face charges in Orange County next week, authorities said Wednesday.
Michael Leon Zeve, 31, is accused of molesting three children under the age of 14 from 1996 to 2000 while living in Irvine, where he worked as a computer technician and coached a children’s roller hockey team.
After befriending two children on his team and another in his neighborhood, prosecutors allege, Zeve gave them alcohol, molested them repeatedly and made videotapes of the sexual encounters over a period of years.
He was arrested in November 2000, released on bond, rearrested the same month when new charges were added and released on bond again.
On Nov. 14, 2001, the day before Zeve was scheduled to appear in court, he disappeared.
“This is somebody we’ve been looking for for years,†FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.
Zeve resurfaced this year in Tel Aviv, she said, where local authorities had arrested him under the name Aaron Michael on suspicion of molesting children there. After learning Zeve’s real name, Eimiller said, a female acquaintance of his “did some research on the Internet and discovered that this was one and the same as the individual wanted in Orange County.â€
The woman contacted the FBI, “and everything worked out beautifully. She should be commended,†Eimiller said.
On June 29, Zeve was extradited to New York City, where he remains in FBI custody. Plans are for an Orange County sheriff’s investigator to fly there to bring him back early next week.
“He fled the first time, so he definitely won’t be out on bail,†sheriff’s spokesman Jim Amormino said. “It’s time to face the music.â€
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