Authorities recently filed charges against a Pasadena fire captain accused of molesting three children.
The investigation started in Ventura County, Los Angeles police said, but they have released few details about the case.
It wasn’t clear how the suspect, Christopher James Ramstead, 47, of Thousand Oaks allegedly met the three victims, and where in Los Angeles County the alleged crimes happened.
Los Angeles police originally arrested him on Wednesday, Feb. 4. He then posted bond and was released. Two days later, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office charged Ramstead with nine counts of a lewd act upon a child under age 14 and he was arrested again that same day.
On Monday, Feb. 9, Ramstead pleaded not guilty to the charges at Van Nuys Courthouse, said Pamela Johnson, a spokeswoman for the DA’s Office. At the prosecutors’ request, the court ordered that he be held without bail, she added.
One child was allegedly abused sometime from March 1 and Oct. 1, 2003; the second child allegedly sometime from Dec. 29, 2011, to Dec. 28, 2013; and the third child allegedly on or about July 26, 2025, according to the criminal complaint.
Ramstead, who started working for Pasadena in 2005, is on administrative leave, said Lisa Derderian, a spokeswoman for the city.
Los Angeles police asked that anyone with information about the case to call detectives at 818-374-5415. Anonymous tipsters can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or go to lacrimestoppers.org.