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Published on 09/09/1996 All articles from this issue

Accused molester has 10-year history of stalking, harassing girls, police say

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By Joanne Griffith Domingue / Town Crier Staff Writer

The Los Altos man facing charges of child molestation and attempted kidnapping has a 10-year history of stalking and harassing six girls in three California counties, according to court documents made available Sept. 3.

The two-inch thick file of papers about James Alan Stiritz, 62, known locally as "Grandpa Jim" because he was often seen around town with his grandson, chronicles a pattern of befriending girls.

The most damning evidence in the file, from two 4-year-old Los Altos girls, resulted in 10 felony charges filed Aug. 28 for allegedly committing lewd and lascivious acts and having substantial sexual conduct with the girls. The charges stem from June 26 and July 3 incidents at Grant Park. Each of the 10 new charges carries a penalty of 25 years to life in prison without parole.

Stiritz has been in custody with $100,000 bail since July 14 on two charges of allegedly kidnapping and harassing a 9-year-old girl in Shoup Park. He pleaded not guilty to all 12 charges at an Aug. 30 hearing. Based upon the 10 new charges, Palo Alto Municipal Court Judge Douglas Southard denied bail because he considered Stiritz a danger to the community.

Palo Alto attorney Diane Morin, who represented Stiritz on the first two charges, said Stiritz's attorney is now Michael Armstrong, "the best in the area. He's an expert.

"The charges are so serious now," she said, "that it (the case) has taken on a new life. It went from being a little case to being a very serious case." Armstrong is also from Palo Alto.

According to court records, Stiritz has been stalking and harassing one girl in the Lake County area of Northern California since 1986. Her family has repeatedly sought restraining orders, one of which is still in effect. Stiritz has been jailed several times for violating the restraining orders.

"I'm afraid of this man," the 20-year-old told a Lake County sheriff four days after her birthday in July 1989. "I don't know what he's going to do next."

He allegedly called her at school, visited her at work and sent a note saying he loved her. He signed it "Top Gun." The sheriff arrested Stiritz for violating the restraining order.

Stiritz moved to the Los Altos area sometime in the early 1990s to live with his daughter, Tanya Halepota, a Los Altos resident, and her son.

But investigators said Stiritz continued contacting the woman in Lake County. Mail sent anonymously was matched to his fingerprints which were on file in Ukiah.

A pattern emerged. Valentine's Day and the woman's July 9 birthday seemed to trigger his need for contact. On Feb. 14, 1994, he allegedly sent her a blank marriage license, a blank premarital health certificate and brochures for housing in Los Altos, according to a Lake County sheriff's report. In July 1994, the woman again requested a restraining order after Stiritz allegedly sent flowers on her birthday.

During the week of Valentine's Day in 1995, the woman filed a criminal complaint because there were two restraining order violations within a few days.

The week after that, Stiritz allegedly tried to befriend an 8-year-old girl he met in a Woodside church and persuade her to model for him. The family reported him to the San Mateo County Sheriff, court documents stated, and hired a private patrol to keep an eye on their home.

In March 1995, Detective Bill Cody with the San Mateo County Sheriff's office contacted Park Elliott Dietz, M.D., Ph.D., a forensic psychiatrist for the FBI's National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime. Dietz said he thought Stiritz had a disorder called "erotomania."

Dietz said patients with this commonly express "gentle sentiments" and are not violent or sexual. They usually have one victim but occasionally become "serial," court documents stated.

A year later, just after Valentine's Day in 1996, Stiritz allegedly tracked down a 7-year-old Palo Alto girl, at her school, whom he had met in Shoup Park. He claimed to be trying to reach the girl's mother, who worked for a dentist, court papers said.

In April, Los Altos police first received a "be on the lookout" notice about Stiritz from another law enforcement agency, said Los Altos Police Detective Suzie Galvez, who has been in charge of the Stiritz investigation.

On July 14, five days after the Lake County woman's birthday, Stiritz was arrested for allegedly trying to kidnap a 9-year-old girl in Shoup Park.

After his arrest, Galvez began an investigation, contacting law enforcement agencies throughout California about Stiritz. This brought in the documents detailing his alleged history of stalking and harassing.

It also brought in many Los Altos parents who had been bothered by Stiritz's alleged behavior toward their girls, all aged 4 to 9 years old.

"We're still investigating," Galvez said. "It's difficult, but it is good to see the victims identified so they can get the proper care they need to deal with (the molestation)."

be told they're safe and nothing will happen to them if they disclose what happened. They need help."