Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Wave of Concern

On April 2 at 12:30 p.m., I witnessed an adult male physically abuse his son, who was about two years old; a second, seven- or eight-year-old son was also present at the Wave House in Mission Beach, where this incident occurred.

The approximately 6’1”, 220-pound man, with sandy neck-length hair, was dressed in jeans and a beige T-shirt. The younger child, whose face was wrinkled with a sort of desperation (as though his day had already been a long one), walked away from the man as the three were entering the Wave House membership office. The man turned and grabbed the child by his arm and carried him — by one arm — approximately eight feet into the membership office and thrust him into a chair.

The sobbing child got up from the chair and the man grabbed him again, squeezing his arms just below the shoulders, and thrust him back into the chair. Through glass, I could see the man yelling at the child, his face close to the boy’s face, as he squeezed his arms and shook him. I was unable to hear what he was saying.

Sponsored
Sponsored

As the man exited the building with the children, I shared my concerns with a Wave House employee and requested the man’s name so I could report the incident to the county’s Department of Health and Human Services.


“I’ll have to check our policies,” said the employee, Tom Stone.

He returned shortly to inform me that the company’s privacy policy would not allow him to share the man’s identity with me. I gave Stone my name, phone number, and email and requested that he report the incident, on my behalf. Stone stated that he would.

I then followed up with a call to the Child Abuse Prevention hotline. My call revealed a flaw in their system: the department had no way of confirming whether or not a complaint had been filed. My name and phone number failed to show up in any reports.


Next, I called the San Diego Police Department and spoke with a dispatcher named Scott. I asked if the SDPD could call the Wave House and obtain the perpetrator’s name so that a report could be filed with the county. The dispatcher informed me that due to privacy laws, they would not be able to provide me with the perpetrator’s name, even if they were able to obtain it, which he doubted would be the case.


Margo Fudge, a Health and Human Services media representative, told me, “Thank you for doing what you have. You’ve probably spent several hours of your day trying to report this incident. A lot of people are afraid to make reports or just don’t bother. Sometimes it’s difficult to learn identities. But, we rely on the community to protect these kids.”

Fudge stated that her department investigates over 100 child-abuse calls daily; 70,000 calls annually.

The police department suggests that those who witness an incident of child abuse call the police as it is happening. The call can be made anonymously. If the parties are leaving, follow them to their vehicle and obtain the vehicle’s license-plate number.

“While I agree with you that child safety should trump privacy laws, it doesn’t at the moment,” said an SDPD representative. “Doesn’t look like there’s a whole lot we can do if you don’t have the guy’s name or license number.”

The SDPD has placed a call to the Wave House requesting a return call from Stone.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

SDSU pres gets highest pay raise in state over last 15 years

Union-Tribune still stiffing downtown San Diego landlord?
Next Article

Didja know I did the first American feature on Jimi Hendrix?

Richard Meltzer goes through the Germs, Blue Oyster Cult, Ray Charles, Elvis, Lavender Hill Mob

On April 2 at 12:30 p.m., I witnessed an adult male physically abuse his son, who was about two years old; a second, seven- or eight-year-old son was also present at the Wave House in Mission Beach, where this incident occurred.

The approximately 6’1”, 220-pound man, with sandy neck-length hair, was dressed in jeans and a beige T-shirt. The younger child, whose face was wrinkled with a sort of desperation (as though his day had already been a long one), walked away from the man as the three were entering the Wave House membership office. The man turned and grabbed the child by his arm and carried him — by one arm — approximately eight feet into the membership office and thrust him into a chair.

The sobbing child got up from the chair and the man grabbed him again, squeezing his arms just below the shoulders, and thrust him back into the chair. Through glass, I could see the man yelling at the child, his face close to the boy’s face, as he squeezed his arms and shook him. I was unable to hear what he was saying.

Sponsored
Sponsored

As the man exited the building with the children, I shared my concerns with a Wave House employee and requested the man’s name so I could report the incident to the county’s Department of Health and Human Services.


“I’ll have to check our policies,” said the employee, Tom Stone.

He returned shortly to inform me that the company’s privacy policy would not allow him to share the man’s identity with me. I gave Stone my name, phone number, and email and requested that he report the incident, on my behalf. Stone stated that he would.

I then followed up with a call to the Child Abuse Prevention hotline. My call revealed a flaw in their system: the department had no way of confirming whether or not a complaint had been filed. My name and phone number failed to show up in any reports.


Next, I called the San Diego Police Department and spoke with a dispatcher named Scott. I asked if the SDPD could call the Wave House and obtain the perpetrator’s name so that a report could be filed with the county. The dispatcher informed me that due to privacy laws, they would not be able to provide me with the perpetrator’s name, even if they were able to obtain it, which he doubted would be the case.


Margo Fudge, a Health and Human Services media representative, told me, “Thank you for doing what you have. You’ve probably spent several hours of your day trying to report this incident. A lot of people are afraid to make reports or just don’t bother. Sometimes it’s difficult to learn identities. But, we rely on the community to protect these kids.”

Fudge stated that her department investigates over 100 child-abuse calls daily; 70,000 calls annually.

The police department suggests that those who witness an incident of child abuse call the police as it is happening. The call can be made anonymously. If the parties are leaving, follow them to their vehicle and obtain the vehicle’s license-plate number.

“While I agree with you that child safety should trump privacy laws, it doesn’t at the moment,” said an SDPD representative. “Doesn’t look like there’s a whole lot we can do if you don’t have the guy’s name or license number.”

The SDPD has placed a call to the Wave House requesting a return call from Stone.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego Reader 2024 Music & Arts Issue

Favorite fakers: Baby Bushka, Fleetwood Max, Electric Waste Band, Oceans, Geezer – plus upcoming tribute schedule
Next Article

Best Kratom Capsules: Top Brands, Benefits & Where To Buy

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.