Amador County – Local law enforcement is reporting two updates in cases related to crimes against children in our area. In Calaveras County, Copperopolis resident Stephen Christopher Hamblin, 51, was sentenced to state prison on January 11 for sexually molesting two girls from 1999-2003. The Calaveras Sheriff’s Department first became aware of the molestations when one of the girls made a report in December of 2007. The second girl came forward shortly thereafter. Calaveras District Attorney Jeffrey Tuttle said that when confronted about the crimes, Hamblin admitted having “made mistakes” and giving in to “temptations.” Following a Preliminary Hearing on April 17, 2009, Hamblin was ordered held to answer to the charges after the Court heard sworn testimony of both victims describing years of sexual abuse which occurred at Hamblin’s Copperopolis home. On October 28, 2009 Hamblin pled guilty to 16 counts of child molestation, 8 counts of penetration with a foreign object, 1 count of statutory rape, and 2 counts of oral copulation with a minor. Hamblin was facing a minimum of 6 years in prison and a maximum of 20 years and 4 months. The Honorable Thomas A. Smith, Assigned Superior Court Judge, sentenced Hamblin to a total of 16 years and 6 months in state prison, Hamblin was also ordered to register as a sex offender. In Amador County on Friday, Undersheriff James Wegner reported that his office cooperated in the arrest of an Elk Grove Unified School District employee for “crimes against a child.” The arrest was made in cooperation with the Elk Grove School District and the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office. Wegner said the crime was not related to the supect’s employment, rather to a crime that occurred recently. A full media release with information about the employee’s identity will be released on Tuesday, January 19. Wegner said he “needs to give more time for the (investigating officers) to gather information so people don’t assume facts on the case.” A number of area media outlets are reporting what they believe to be the identity of the suspect, but Wegner said he will neither confirm nor deny that information. He said the release next Tuesday will be “substantial and sufficient” to answer all the basic facts about this case. Story by Alex Lane, contributions from Calaveras District Attorney’s Office. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.