COSTA RICA
A.M. Costa Rica
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A suspected child molester who has lived in Quepos since 2006 is finally in custody in the United States. The case has religious dimensions because the man, Michael J. Norris, 67, was an elder of the Jehovah’s Witnesses congregation where the long-running molestation is alleged to have taken place.
A warrant for Norris was issued in Santa Barbara, California, in December. The Sheriff’s Office there posted his photo and a request for information. But persons associated with the Carpinteria, California, congregation knew exactly where the man was. They notified sheriff’s detectives and employees at the U.S. Embassy here.
There are conflicting reports on where Norris was detained. One version is that he was arrested when he got off a plane at Los Angeles International Airport. A second version is that he was detained here at a Costa Rican airport and escorted to Los Angeles by law officers where the official arrest took place.
In any event, he is in the Santa Barbara county jail in lieu of $250,000 bail. The allegations include multiple counts of molesting a minor under the age of 14. There also is an allegation of distributing pornography to a minor. The investigation has been going on for a year or more.
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