Neighbors Protest Return of Paroled Child Molester

A convicted child molester whose release from prison in 1988 was strongly protested by Hawthorne parents was paroled into the same neighborhood last week.

Joseph Wells Noble, 33, spent Wednesday and Thursday nights at his parents’ Hawthorne home. Parole officials, who received more than a dozen calls from Hawthorne parents and school officials after a recent news report revealed his whereabouts, said that he will be moved out of Hawthorne to an undisclosed location in Los Angeles County.

“His parents don’t want him,” said David Lytle, a supervisor of the state parole office in Gardena. “It’s causing too many problems. Think how you’d feel if your son who was a child molester was living in your home and the whole world knows it.”

Noble will be closely supervised until his parole expires June 15, Lytle said. Although he can move anywhere he wants to afterward, he is required to register as a sex offender with his local police department for the rest of his life, Lytle said.

Noble, who has been in and out of prison since 1975 for a variety of sex crimes, was convicted in 1984 on two counts of kidnaping and six counts of child molestation. Since 1987, he has been returned to prison three times for violating his parole by visiting schoolyards and parks or failing to meet with his parole officers.

Hawthorne Police Lt. Jan Ogden said that Noble is considered dangerous and that officers throughout the department received notice that he will again be on the streets.

“Everybody in the department is aware that he (was) released,” Ogden said. “If there’s an officer who is not aware of who he is, I’m sure he’ll be filled in.”

In August, 1988, when Noble was paroled to his parents’ home in Hawthorne, parents whose children attend nearby Ramona Elementary School plastered trees and lampposts with flyers containing Noble’s photo and address. The flyers generated controversy because some people believed that they violated Noble’s right to privacy.

Six months later, Noble was returned to prison for a parole violation. In February, 1990, less than two weeks after his next release, Noble was arrested by Torrance detectives who spotted him driving into areas where children congregate. He was returned to prison for a year.

Although Noble was scheduled to be paroled two months ago, his release was delayed until last week because of violations he committed while in prison, an official said.

Three Hawthorne parents expressed shock that parole officials had released Noble into their neighborhood once again. Two parents said they expected a new round of flyers to be sent out if Noble remains in the South Bay.

“This is an area where children walk to and from school,” said Al La Mere, a Hawthorne parent who has two daughters at Ramona Elementary. “To think someone like that would be released in an area that has a lot of children is just absolutely insane.”

Lori Brown, who lives with her three daughters two blocks from the Nobles’ home, agreed: “It’s extremely frightening. The kids can no longer go outside to play. They can’t ride their bikes or roller-skate without supervision.”

Despite assurances that Noble will not remain in Hawthorne, teachers at the Hawthorne school district’s nine campuses have been instructed to review safety issues with their students as a precaution, Assistant Supt. Don Carrington said.