Child Molester Arrested for Violating Parole

A convicted child molester, who was on parole for kidnaping and child molestation, was arrested this month after Torrance police spotted him watching children at schools and parks throughout the South Bay and Long Beach.

Joseph Wells Noble, 32, who has been in and out of prison since 1975 for sex crimes, was arrested on Feb. 8 because he violated his parole by driving near an area where children congregate, Torrance Police Sgt. Paul Besse said.

Noble has been arrested several times while on parole and returned to prison for either being near schools and parks or for failing to meet with his parole officers, according to law enforcement officials.

Besse said officers were assigned to trail Noble after he was paroled on Jan. 27. He declined to identify the parks and schools where Noble was spotted.