Balboa man suspected of molesting girls

Sue Doyle

BALBOA ISLAND -- A 52-year-old man suspected of molesting two young girls

was arrested early Tuesday, authorities said.

Thomas Michael Murphy will faces charges this week at his arraignment at

Harbor Justice Center. He sits behind bars at Newport Beach City Jail in

lieu of $250,000 bail. Murphy lives in the 300 block of Ruby Avenue on

the island.

Authorities released few details about the incident, except that Murphy

was not a registered sex offender, said Lt. Doug Fletcher of the Newport

Beach Police Department.

The molestation accusation stems from an incident with two 9-year-old

girls, Fletcher said. The girls told their parents that Murphy allegedly

touched them inappropriately and showed them pornographic material. The

parents then reported the incident to authorities late last week,

Fletcher said.

Police took the former self-employed scuba instructor into custody after

they searched his residence and reportedly found evidence to back up the

accusation, Fletcher said, although he would not elaborate on what that

evidence might be.

Police do not know if Murphy still works as a scuba instructor, or the

name of his business.

Murphy’s neighbors on Ruby Avenue also had little to say about the man,

who apparently kept to himself.

The maze of one-way streets around the neighborhood boast beautiful homes

with manicured yards. People stroll down the sidewalks and wave to their

neighbors.

“This is pretty awful. We’re living here in a false sense of security,”

said Donna Albertsen, a Ruby Avenue resident.

Albertsen said she has lived there for about four years and knows the

scoop on nearly everyone in her street. It’s a neighborhood where people

look out for each other and keep an eye on strangers, she said.

She did not know Murphy and was shocked to hear that allegations had been

made against someone living on her street.

“We all know each other and protect each other,” Albertsen said. “We do

need to be more aware, because this has always felt like living in a

sheltered cocoon.”

Newport Coast resident Evelyne Marks pushed a stroller that held her

6-month-old boy. She recently moved to the area from Los Angeles.

“I wouldn’t be shocked to hear about this in L.A., but here? Just having

kids makes you more sensitive to the issue,” Marks said.

Newport Beach resident Jan Levine said she enjoys walks around the area

because it is so safe.

“This is rather scary, because there are so many children on vacation

here,” Levine said.