San Jose Camp Employee Molested Child Decade Before Latest Charges; Parents Never Informed
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) -- The arrest of a former counselor at San Jose science camp on charges of child molestation and child porn was not the first time an employee of that camp faced such charges.
Ten years ago, Walden West camp lifeguard Steven Michael Dolan was fired – and later arrested and convicted of child molestation - after being caught in his car with a naked teenage boy he met online in his car.
Since the boy was not a camper at Walden West and the incident happened outside Dolan work environment, the county's office of education told the San Jose Mercury News it did not further investigate Dolan or send out a note to parents.
The Mercury News reported after serving eight months in jail, Dolan was arrested again after being found in his car with alcohol and a boy in violation of his probation. He was also convicted in 2012 of molesting a young relative between 2001 and 2005.
Word of Dolan's arrests comes months after the arrest of 27-year-old Edgar Covarrubias-Padilla. He was charged in May with possession of child pornography and later with child molestation after being the focus of a federal probe for months.
Gareth Hedges, Director of Consulting for insurance and risk management firm The Redwoods Group, said that the decision by the education office to not to tell parents about Dolan's arrest was exactly the wrong response.
"A lot of people are worried that they are going to be admitting fault or they're going to be putting themselves into more legal trouble by communicating, and that's really not the case," said Hedges. "When you've had someone who's arrested the most important thing is to find out if there have been any more victims."
It's believed if the earlier incident had been publicized it could have served as an alarm to beef up safeguards for children at the camp and possibly prevented the alleged molestation by Covarrubias
The county's office of education is currently facing two claims from parents who say Covarrubias, known as "Papa Bear" to campers, abused their children. It has now set up a task force to review safety measures at Walden West.
