NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT PITCHESS INMATES' KIDS GET HOLIDAY SURPRISE.

Byline: Nicholas Grudin Staff Writer

CASTAIC - Three-year-old Destiny and her two siblings wandered out of the county jail Sunday morning at their mother's side with smiles fixed on their faces and toys tightly gripped in their hands.

Destiny and her brother Anthony, 2, had just seen Santa Claus for the first time, a bittersweet moment for their mother, Diana Esquivel, 23, who brought the children to the Peter J. Pitchess Detention Center to visit their father for the holidays.

After a brief reunion in the visitors' area, the family was greeted by volunteers from the Santa Clarita Valley-Newhall Optimists Club, who brought along Santa Claus and a mound of toys.

``It's a really nice thing that they are doing here. It's something positive for the kids,'' said Esquivel, as she looked down at Destiny, who was trying to pry open a new Barbie doll box.

``It just makes you want to cry ... but the kids go home happier,'' said Leticia Mendez, the children's grandmother, with tears in her eyes.

For the ninth year, the Optimists Club and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department hosted the holiday party at an outdoor waiting area next to the jail facility, which is northwest of Santa Clarita along the Golden State Freeway (Interstate 5).

The event is meant to give the families of inmates a positive experience in the midst of their holiday visits to the jail, moments that are usually filled with sorrow and stress, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca.

``The children are innocent to whatever their parents did wrong. By coming here, it gives us the opportunity to give them some Christmas cheer even though they are going through a hard time,'' Baca said. ``Children, no matter who their parents are, deserve to have a merry Christmas.''

Baca stopped by the event Sunday to help hand out gifts.

``I totally empathize with the families - they have a hard time when a loved one is in jail,'' he said. ``We want to show them that we care about them.''

The party's organizer, Dee Gadbury, president of the Optimists Club, said the holiday event at Pitchess is one of the most rewarding that the Optimists organization conducts.

``For me, it's the smiles that you see on these kids' faces. For some of them, this is the only Christmas they're going to get,'' Gadbury said.

According to Gadbury's husband, Mike, who was dressed as Santa Claus, the Pitchess party serves as a happy ending to what is usually a roller-coaster day of emotions for kids who are visiting the detention center.

``They're in a tension-filled place and all of a sudden, they see Santa and their whole attitude changes,'' Mike Gadbury said. ``It defuses the tension.''

Nicholas Grudin, [phone]

nicholas.grudin(at)dailynews.com

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5 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color in SAC edition only) Above, Mike Gadbury of the Santa Clarita Valley-Newhall Optimists Club, aka Santa, hands a toy to Leanne Manjarrez, 1, held by her aunt Virginia Manjarrez. Left, Naomi Gutierrez, 4, clutches holiday gifts received during Sunday's Christmas party at Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic.

(3) Christian Savavia, 2, above right, gets a warm hug from Mike Gadbury as Santa at the Christmas celebration.

(4 -- ran in SAC edition only) A snowman, below right, entertains visitors.

(5 -- ran in SAC edition only) Children line up to visit Santa in the detention center's visiting area.

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer