New Megan’s Law puts sex offenders on website

Privacy matters
at stake
By Stephanie Bertholdo
bertholdo@theacorn.com

A change in Megan’s Law now permits the public to look on the Internet for detailed information about sex offenders, including their addresses and photographs.

The California Department of Justice website provides Internet access to the pictures and addresses of more than 63,000 people who were required to register in California as sex offenders.

The website, www.meganslaw.ca.gov, also includes the nature of each offender’s crime and the proximity of their homes to schools and parks.

Height, weight, eye and hair color, date of birth, scars, marks, tattoos and known aliases are highlighted in the individual sex offender listings.

Megan’s Law is named after a 7-year-old New Jersey girl, Megan Kanka, who was raped and killed by a known child molester who had moved across the street from the family without their knowledge.

Information on the new website can be accessed by entering a specific name of a sex offender, or the name of a county, city, street address, zip code—even names of parks and schools.

The Internet access differs from state to state.

Privacy advocates believe the law violates due process rights of the offender, and may spur vigilantism in some communities.

Sgt. Tim Youngern of the Malibu/ Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station said that none of the local sex offenders have complained about harassment.

"It’s a crime to target (registered sex offenders) for anything," Youngern said.

Under state law, some registered sex offenders are not subject to public disclosure. Information on approximately 22,000 other offenders is not included on the website, but law enforcement agencies maintain information about them.

Sex offenders target children mostly. From indecent exposure and lewd and lascivious acts with minors, to forced rape and sexual battery, specific offenses are noted in each profile. Several offenders have been convicted of "continuous child abuse." Some of the offenders have been flagged as being in violation of their registration requirements.

One hundred and forty-eight sex offenders are listed as living in the Conejo Valley, Moorpark and Simi Valley. The highest number of sex offenders live in Simi Valley (71), followed by Thousand Oaks (28), Moorpark (21), and Newbury Park (18).

Calabasas is home to four registered sex offenders, while three people list Westlake Village as their address. Two registered sex offenders reside in Agoura Hills, and one in Oak Park lives close to Medea Creek Middle School.

It is noted on the site that the addresses are not always current, only that they are the last registered address reported by the offender.

While the vast majority of sex offenders on the site are male, a few women have been convicted of sex crimes.

A Simi Valley woman was convicted of kidnapping young girls for prostitution and rape. A Thousand Oaks woman committed lewd act with a child under 14.

Some offenders are designated as "mentally disordered." One man profiled on the site is 85 years old.

To access the database and sex offender profiles, a disclaimer box must be checked, which states the information cannot be used for harassment.

Caution should be taken to avoid mistaken identities, too. According to the website, "Extreme care must be taken in the use of information because mistaken identification may occur when relying solely upon name, age and address to identify individuals."

The site also warns people against complacency. Even if a particular neighborhood seems to have few convicted sex offenders, residents are advised that not all sex offenders have been caught and convicted. In addition, many sex crimes have gone unreported.