Serial child molestation suspect arrested on 99 charges, with more possible victims
A South Lake Tahoe man, described by police as an alleged serial child molester, was arrested this week on 99 felony counts related to sexual abuse of numerous underage victims, authorities said Thursday, with additional charges pending.
Christopher Scott Flanders, 51, was arrested Wednesday in Placerville following a three-month investigation focused on sexual assaults involving multiple victims in the South Lake Tahoe area, the South Lake Tahoe Police Department said in a news release Thursday.
Flanders was booked on charges that include continuous sexual abuse of a child, oral copulation involving a victim under 14 years old, lewd acts upon a child under 14 years old and sexual penetration with a foreign object. Further charges — including for child pornography — are pending, the news release said.
Detectives believe there may be additional victims who have not been identified, potentially in more than a dozen cities across California, Nevada, Washington state and Oregon in which Flanders has recently resided.
Flanders previously lived in San Jose, Salinas, Pacific Grove, Boulder Creek, Palmdale, Aptos, Fort Bragg, Sunland, Mendocino and Watsonville in California; Woodinville and Vancouver in Washington; La Grande, Oregon; and Las Vegas, the news release said.
Police did not specify how many victims were involved in the Tahoe-area molestations except to say that there were “multiple.”
South Lake Tahoe Police are asking parents that may have known Flanders to talk to their children and report any potential victimization to the authorities, the news release said. The investigation remains ongoing.
Flanders was arrested in the Placerville area and is being held at the El Dorado County jail on $2 million bail.
Anyone with information about Flanders or related to the investigation is urged to contact South Lake Tahoe Police at 530-542-6100.
This story was originally published March 19, 2020 at 11:15 AM.
