SAN FRANCISCO -- The Army and FBI have examined more than 60 children cared for at a military day-care center by a civilian who was once charged with molesting a boy, and a group of parents says 37 of them are 'suspected victims' of sexual abuse.
At least two of the children were infected with the sexually transmitted disease chlamydia and two others also may have been infected, Bob Mahoney, a spokesman for the Presidio of San Francisco Army base, said Monday.
Another child originally tested positive for exposure to the AIDS virus but a second, more conclusive test showed the virus was not present, Mahoney said.
Gary Hambright, 33, who supervised children at Presidio Child Development Center for about 18 months, was indicted Dec. 30 on charges he had molested a 3-year-old boy, but the charges were dropped in March because a judge refused to allow the child to testify because of his age. The judge also refused to allow the boy's doctor, nurse, brother and mother to testify about the child's statements because their testimony would be hearsay.
Hambright's attorney, Rommel Bondoc, said his client is an ordained Southern Baptist minister with no criminal record and currently works as a handyman at a local church.
Mahoney said during the weekend that the FBI was helping Army investigators check reports from parents about possible abuse of their children.
He said more than 60 children were examined after they were brought to authorities by parents who suspected they had been molested.
FBI agent John Holford said Monday the federal investigation of Hambright has continued since his indictment. Asked to elaborate, he said the investigation has been 'ongoing, continuous and extensive.'
The allegation that 37 children were suspected victims of child molestation was made in a letter by a group of parents that was distributed to other parents by Army officials.
The April 29 letter was signed by five couples and transmitted to 300 families by Col. Joseph Rafferty, the base commander.
'We feel you should know there are now 37 children identified by the authorities as suspected victims,' the letter said. 'We are very concerned that there may be more children affected and in need of help, yet remain unidentified.
'Be aware that the suspect worked at the (center) from June 1985 to November 1986. We urge you, if you have any reason to suspect that your child was involved or even witnessed something, to arrange for an interview with a trained therapist.'
One of the signers was a parent of the boy named in the indictment against Hambright.
'It was the perfect crime,' said Mike Tobin.
Tobin and his wife, Joyce, and Dennis Runyan and his wife, Gretchen, who also signed the letter, said they do not want to be accused of inciting children to fabricate stories of abuse.
'We don't want to tie the prosecutors' hands and jeopardize the investigation,' Dennis Runyan said.
He added he feared a repetition of the McMartin Pre-School molestation case in Manhattan Beach, Calif., where parents and therapists have been accused by defense attorneys of putting ideas into children's heads.
The Presidio day-care center serves the children of Army personnel and civilians who work on the post, a quiet, wooded base overlooking the Golden Gate. It employs 40 civilians and has facilities for about 300 children a day.
Mahoney said since the Tobin incident in November, there have been no new reported cases of abuse. 'The child-care center is a safe place,' he added.
