Southie

Prosecutor calls it 'worst case of child molestation imaginable'

Therapist reportedly admitted acts of abuse

By Ray Huard
STAFF WRITER

March 11, 2006

A respiratory therapist at a Children's Hospital convalescent center admitted to “countless” molestations of some of the facility's most helpless patients and may have molested many other children, a prosecutor told a judge yesterday.

The prosecutor also said the investigation of Wayne Albert Bleyle, 54, is continuing in a case the District Attorney's Office said appears to be unprecedented in its scope and depravity.

Bleyle pleaded not guilty at the hearing to multiple charges of child molestation and possessing and distributing child pornography, some of which prosecutors said shows him having sex with children.

Gunn told the judge that when Bleyle was asked by investigators how many children he molested, Bleyle replied: “How many snowflakes are there out there?”

Bleyle admitted molesting children and trading child pornography when investigators contacted him earlier this month by cell phone in upstate New York where he was visiting his father, Gunn told the judge.

She would not provide details of the telephone call or whether Bleyle was aware that he was talking to investigators.

“Tens of thousands and possibly over 100,000 images of child pornography, stills and video” were found on computers that investigators seized at Bleyle's Santee home, Gunn said.

The pictures and videos included “children in full sexual intercourse with adult men,” she said.

“We don't know if he collected a lot of this material or if he created it. And that's where we're going with the investigation,” San Diego Police Chief William Lansdowne said in an interview.
A small portion of the pornography found on his computers were cell-phone camera photographs that Bleyle took of himself fondling children at the Children's Convalescent Hospital, Gunn said.

“This is a shattering thing for all of us,” she said.

Gunn said Bleyle took pornographic pictures of the children during the 10 years he has worked at the facility, which is operated by Children's Hospital.

Most of the children Bleyle is accused of molesting and photographing were brain-damaged and couldn't move on their own or speak, she said. The center's patients generally cannot feed, bathe or dress themselves.

Police have yet to determine whether Bleyle molested any children outside of the hospital, Lansdowne said.

Investigators also are “following up on people who either sent him materials or people who received pornography from him,” he said. “This thing could grow exponentially.”

Bleyle was “a prolific trader” in child pornography, Gunn said. She said he posted “many of the worst” pornographic pictures of children on his computers to share on the Internet.

San Diego police detectives arrested him Wednesday outside the Viejas Casino in Alpine. He told officers he was homeless because his wife had kicked him out when she learned he was under investigation.

Bleyle said nothing during the court hearing. Judge David Szumowski set bail at $5 million; prosecutors had requested bail of at least $3 million. Bleyle has been held in county jail since his arrest; the judge appointed the Public Defender's Office to represent him.

He is charged with 24 counts of child pornography and two counts of child molestation, and faces a prison sentence of up to 62 years to life if convicted of these charges, Gunn said after the hearing.

The prosecutor said the investigation is continuing and that additional charges could be filed.

“We know there are more victims out there,” Gunn said. She said there is no telling how many children might have been molested by Bleyle.

“I don't know if we will ever know,” she said.

Authorities said the current charges involve nine children who are either patients or former patients who were under his care at the 59-bed convalescent center in Kearny Mesa. Police said the victims range in age from the very young to midteens.

Hospital officials said they have contacted the families of all 53 patients at the convalescent center and are contacting former patients' families to notify them about the case.

Bleyle has worked for Children's Hospital, which is renowned for its detection and treatment of child abuse cases, for 26 years, the last 10 at the convalescent center.

Authorities said the investigation began about a month ago after police received a tip about child pornography on the Internet.

The prosecutor said Bleyle voluntarily returned to San Diego County from New York last week but she told the judge she fears he might flee if allowed out of jail, now that he understands the extent of the charges against him.

Police said he had no known criminal record.

Meanwhile, the state Respiratory Care Board suspended Bleyle from practicing respiratory therapy, pending the outcome of his criminal case, said Stephanie Nunez, the board's executive officer.

Bleyle had been licensed to provide diagnostic and pulmonary care since 1985, when California began licensing such workers. There is no record of any complaint against him.

Nunez said Bleyle agreed to sign the suspension order from his jail cell Thursday when visited by state Deputy Attorney General Steve Zeigen of the Health Quality Enforcement Section of the state Department of Justice.

In signing the order, Bleyle waived his right to a hearing, Nunez said.

She said the board took the quick action to assure the public that Bleyle could not treat patients until his criminal case is resolved, even if he posts bail.

Bleyle last renewed his license in 2005. The renewal is good for two years.

Staff writers Joe Hughes, Karen Kucher and Tony Manolatos contributed to this report.


This is absolutely sickening!!! There are too many "sick" people out there in the world!!!!

__________________
“When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.” - Jimi Hendrix
Don't Worry, Be Happy - Bobby McFerrin

chankya

dip the bastard in boiling oil.. slowly.

__________________
"Of all the manifestations of power, restraint impresses men the most." - Thucydides

dalem

I can think of a few ways in which they might get the information out of him.

-dale

ChrisF202

This is quite disturbing.

Here the problem is actually investigating child abuse cases because the CPS case workers have no actual authority and refuse to do anything without a police escort for fear of being attacked (several case workers have been shot at, attacked, etc recently in my area). I propose merging CPS into the county sheriff's office and merging the civil service title of CPS investigator (or whatever the official title for the case worker is) into deputy sheriff - investigator where they would then have to go through the police academy but they would then have full police officer status and the ability to carry guns.

Shamus

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A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but
it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.

omon

any why would we want ppl, like this alive??

Shamus

Honestly omon probably the kindest thing you could do to this man would be to put him out of his misery.I do not feel kindly towards this man.

Ray

Quite horrifying.

__________________


"Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."

I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.

HAKUNA MATATA

JBG

Put him in the general prison population. In Australia such persons are referred to as rock-spiders. Yeah, I know, unfair to both rocks and spiders but that is the phrase. Only the pack rapists go easy on them and that is often because the pack rapists have enough problems of their own.

The wet blankets will go on about the "inhumanity" of it all. I say, "you made your bed, sleep in it". NO-ONE forced these people to be so fundamentally depraved.

Jonathan

ChrisF202

Prison? Prison?

I believe that anyone who commits a sexual crime against a child should be executed. Very few things are worse in my mind then hurting a child.

JBG

ChrisF202, we don't have capital punishment here. Or at least, the State is not allowed to execute. Fellow prisoners may not feel so constrained.

Jonathan

ChrisF202

Correct me if im wrong but the Commonwealth banned executions but some states still have it on the books right?

JBG

It is on the books, for treason and piracy, if I recall correctly.

Jonathan