COUNTYWIDE : DNA Tests Identify Man as Molester

A New Jersey drifter has been identified through DNA tests as the man who broke into an Oak View home in December and molested a 10-year-old girl while her parents slept nearby, authorities said Thursday.

Ventura County sheriff’s investigators obtained an arrest warrant Monday for Dennis Fredman, 30, in connection with the Dec. 20 child molestation in Oak View, Sheriff’s Sgt. John Fitzgerald said.

“Fredman is a suspect in a series of child molests which occurred in the city of Ventura and in the community of Oak View,” Fitzgerald said in a statement. “The warrant was issued based on a DNA match of Fredman’s blood with evidence found at a crime scene.”

In two other Oak View break-ins, Fitzgerald said a man molested two girls, one age 6 and the other 10.

Investigators said Fredman’s habit of breaking into occupied homes, known as “hot prowling” in police slang, is considered an extremely dangerous type of crime.

“There is a tremendous potential for violence with a hot prowler,” Sheriff’s Lt. Joe Harwell said. “We want to see this guy off the street as soon as possible.”

Fredman may still be in western Ventura County, Fitzgerald said. In the past, he has slept in a pickup truck and at a girlfriend’s residence, he said.

Police describe Fredman as Anglo, with black hair and brown eyes, a mustache and short beard. He is 5 feet 10 inches tall, and weighs about 170 pounds.

Fredman’s arrest in August for an attempted break-in in Ventura eventually led to his identification in the Oak View molestation, Ventura Police Detective Pat Stevens said.

Police arrested Fredman after an attempted break-in, and samples of his blood and saliva were tested. But charges were never filed in the case.