Photographer Arrested For Sexual Abuse Of Boys At Portola Valley Rec Center
MENLO PARK (CBS SF) -- A Menlo Park man and longtime swim team photographer is accused of sexually abusing young boys for the last 30 years and San Mateo County Sheriff spokesperson said Thursday they fear there may be more victims.
According to the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, in January of 2019, deputies received information about multiple alleged sexual assaults that happened over the course of several years at the Ladera Recreation Center.
The information was given to San Mateo County Sheriff Office detectives, who conducted a thorough investigation.
During the investigation, multiple victims came forward and said they had been sexually assaulted by 47-year-old Menlo Park resident Randolph "Randy" Haldeman, who worked at the Ladera Recreation Center a the swim team photographer.
According to authorities, the incidents in question dated back as far as 1987, with the most recent happening four years ago. At the time of these incidents, the young male victims were between the ages of 8 to 13 years old. In addition, there were also incidents that took place at Haldeman's home in unincorporated Menlo Park.
Haldeman was arrested at his residence on Thursday for lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 years old and booked into the San Mateo County jail.
"It was revealed to us through a trusted adult and through that we discovered that there were multiple other victims," said San Mateo County Sheriff detective and spokesperson Rosemerry Blankswade.
"Three victims have come forward so far but we definitely believe there are more victims out there.
Blankswade said their investigation revealed Haldeman sexually abused three boys, ages 8 to 13. Blankswade said the abuse also occurred at the home Haldeman shares with his wife.
"It's really scary," said Brian Ross, who often takes his two young kids to the rec center. "It's really scary, it's horrible."
Many parents at the rec center said they were stunned by Haldeman's arrest.
The San Mateo County Sheriff's Office encourages anyone who had contact with Haldeman, allowed him to be in contact with their children or think they might know of someone who was victimized to contact Detective Fava at 650-363-4192 (email: jfava@smcgov.org) or Detective Sergeant Cang at 650-363-4008 (email: jcang@smcgov.org).
KPIX 5's Maria Medina contributed to this report
