Wednesday, May 7, 2003 | 11:18 a.m.
In the last few days Metro Police made two unrelated arrests of men who allegedly molested teenage girls who were trying to break into modeling.
In one of the cases, police believe there were additional victims who have not yet come forward.
Scott Riddel, 41, who runs a local modeling agency called American Model Search, was arrested Monday for allegedly fondling a 14-year-old girl at his business at 1455 E. Tropicana Ave.
Another man, Eric Root, 39, a local photographer, was arrested Sunday on 25 counts of child pornography, eight counts of using a minor to manufacture child pornography, four counts of sexual assault of a victim under 14 and two counts of sexual assault of a victim under 16.
Riddel was booked into Clark County Detention Center on charges of open and gross lewdness. Riddel also was wanted by authorities in Colorado Springs, Colo., in connection with a sexual assault, police said.
The victim told police that Riddel touched her inappropriately while at the modeling agency, police said. She also alleged that Riddel showed her pornographic websites.
The girl was taking part in Riddel's modeling school, Sgt. Chris Darcy said.
"There came a point in time when he rubbed her on the behind," Darcy said. The alleged incident happened about a month ago.
Darcy said he believes Riddel might have done this to other girls, and he would like them to come forward.
In Root's case, the teenage girl whose complaint led authorities to arrest him Saturday was not the only one he photographed nude and may not have been the only one he allegedly sexually assaulted, Metro Police said.
"We are looking for other potential victims and asking them to come forward," Lt. Jeff Carlson said.
Carlson said the alleged victim, who is under 16, went to police Saturday to discuss an unrelated matter and mentioned her encounters with Root. Police obtained a warrant to search Root's parents' garage in southwest Las Vegas, where Root had built living quarters and a darkroom.
During the search, detectives found nude photographs of other girls who appear to be between the ages of 12 and 16 years old. Root allegedly took the photographs under the pretext that he was providing a portfolio for aspiring models.
Carlson said the alleged abuse began when the girl was 12. She accused Root of using and offering her drugs, but Carlson said those allegations couldn't be substantiated.
During a search of Root's home, police seized hundreds of photographs and several computer hard drives. It could take weeks to go through all the electronic files, Carlson said.
"A lot of child pornographers trade their photographs or sell them," he said. "That's what we're going to look into -- whether he was emailing them or trading them."
Root, a native of Las Vegas, has been working as a photographer for at least three years, Carlson said. Root's website says he worked as a medical technician until 1998, when he decided to pursue photography full-time.
Anyone with pertinent information about Root can call Metro's sexual assault unit at 229-3421 or Crime Stoppers at 385-5555.
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