The number of homeless sex offenders has skyrocketed since Jessica’s Law went into effect, and after the recent arrest of two serial killer suspects some experts say the law to protect women and children is backfiring.
Unable to live near schools and parks, some registered offenders end up living on the streets, making it difficult for them to find jobs and forcing them into areas where they end up congregating.
Before the residency restrictions brought by Jessica’s Law eight years ago, 88 paroled sex offenders were registered as transient in California. Within five years, that number spiraled to 1,986.
That means that one-third of sex parolees are transient, making them difficult to track even with GPS monitoring bracelets.
“It’s outrageously high. It’s one of our biggest gaps in public safety ,” said Tom Tobin, vice chairman of the California Sex Offender Management Board. “There’s not a shred of research that supports residence restrictions.
“We do things that are not so wise, because we want to do something.”
Charged with raping and murdering four women, Steven Gordon and Franc Cano lived in a beat-up white Toyota 4Runner parked in an industrial area of Anaheim – one of the few places open for them to live.
Jessica’s Law requires paroled sex offenders to live at least 2,000 feet – more than one-third of a mile away from schools and parks.
In many Orange County cities, particularly in high density areas where there are more schools such as Santa Ana and Huntington Beach, the areas where paroled offenders can live are especially limited.
TRACKING DIFFICULT
State officials who oversee California’s sex offender population have urged lawmakers to reconsider the restrictions, citing a steep rise in homelessness.
Meanwhile, law-and-order advocates have pushed for even more “predator free zones,” such as the effort by Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas to ban all registered sex offenders from parks – a campaign that was recently shot down by the courts.
Rosanne Froeberg, assistant district attorney for the office’s sexual assault unit, said the homeless population shouldn’t be a problem if they follow the conditions of their release, such as regularly checking in with police. She supported maintaining residency restrictions.
“My concern is public safety and the safety of children and other victims. That’s a bigger concern than whether a sex offender released from prison has the same pillow to lay his head on every night,” Froeberg said.
Local police officials say monitoring homeless sex offenders is more difficult and requires additional resources. While offenders with housing must register with police annually, transients must register every 30 days.
Ed Harrison, a spokesman for the Orange County Probation Department, said housing is one criteria used to evaluate how much supervision a person requires. Those without stable shelter are generally considered a greater risk.
“We’re worried about homelessness for any of our offenders,” Harrison said. “It’s a significant impediment for having a pro-social lifestyle.”
The population also presents unique challenges. Sex offenders on probation or parole typically wear GPS tracking devices, which must be charged twice daily. Some homeless offenders charge at shelters, armories or police stations.
Sgt. Peter Hahn, with the Los Angeles County sheriff’s special victim’s unit, said residency restrictions have indeed backfired.
“Basically, it’s hard to keep track (of the homeless), so they could be out doing things they’re not supposed to,” Hahn said.
In the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s jurisdiction, there are 3,500 registered sex offenders, and 163 of them are transient.
Hahn said some registrants have homes but report themselves as transient so their addresses won’t appear on the Megan’s Law website.
‘CAN’T LIVE ANYWHERE’
Though California has about 75,000 registered sex offenders living outside prison, enforcement of Jessica’s Law is generally limited to those on probation or parole, such as Gordon and Cano.
The pair returned to Anaheim after serving a few months in federal prison for cutting their GPS tracking devices and hopping a bus to Las Vegas.
Why they became homeless and how large a role Jessica’s Law played in their abilities to find stable housing remains unclear. Both suspects declined interviews.
“They can’t live anywhere, they can’t do anything,” said Ian Pummell, Gordon’s former boss at a paint and body shop.
Gordon was labeled a sex offender after pleading guilty in 1992 to molesting his nephew. Cano became one after pleading guilty in 2008 to molesting his cousin.
Lt. Bob Dunn of the Anaheim Police Department said 108 transient sex offenders are registered to live in Anaheim and 67 are on probation or parole. Most tend to congregate in industrial zones and other places miles away from parks and schools.
Dunn said police have invested resources in connecting homeless residents with social services and paying extra attention to registered sex offenders. One detective is specifically assigned to monitor the city’s more than 600 registrants, and patrol officers interact with them “almost on a daily basis.”
In Santa Ana, the number of transient sex offenders has more than doubled, from 30 to 69, in the past five years. Most now congregate around the downtown Civic Center.
JESSICA’S LAW BATTLES
Backed by law enforcement, a majority of voters in every county except San Francisco approved Jessica’s Law in 2006, with some of the largest margins of victory in Southern California.
However, some recent court battles have produced different results. Two years ago after a lawsuit, a state appeals court ordered parole officials to stop enforcing Jessica’s Law in San Diego County.
“It applies as a blanket proscription, blindly applied to all registered sex offenders on parole without consideration of the circumstances or history of the individual case,” justices ruled.
The court said Jessica’s Law was “unconstitutionally unreasonable,” violating a parolee’s right to travel, establish a home and have privacy. It effectively barred offenders from 97 percent of San Diego County’s rental property and the remainder was priced too high or off limits because of concerns by landlords, the justices wrote.
In the meantime, Luis Patino, state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said, Jessica’s Law is enforced wherever a court hasn’t ordered the state to stop enforcing it. Patino said he didn’t know how many places that includes.
Last week, the courts also handed Orange County’s top prosecutor Rackauckas a defeat by sinking local ordinances designed to ban sex offenders from city and county parks.
While Jessica’s Law prohibits sex offenders from residing within 2,000 feet of parks, Rackauckas had pushed the county and about a dozen cities to prohibit offenders from entering them.
Two registered sex offenders challenged the ordinances, and a state appeals court agreed that cities could not ban where sex offenders go. The state Supreme Court declined to review that ruling last week, allowing the lower court decision to stand.
TIGHTER RESTRICTIONS
Local police officials said their departments primarily keep tabs on transient sex offenders through 30-day registration checks and routine patrols in areas where homeless people live.
Orange County Supervisor Todd Spitzer argued that amount of oversight inadequately monitors the population and more enforcement should be required by law. He said it’s ridiculous that offenders with permanent housing are checked at their homes while transients are not.
“If they’re going to be on GPS, they need to check in every single day with a local law enforcement agency. It’s intolerable that we would not know the whereabouts of those who are convicted,” Spitzer said.
Garden Grove spokesman Lt. Ben Stauffer said finding people with no fixed address can be a challenge for detectives.
“That’s hit and miss,” Stauffer said. “They could be anywhere in the city.”
In Fullerton, a compliance officer oversees registration requirements and can charge people who fail to register with a misdemeanor or felony, spokesman Sgt. Jeff Stuart said.
“We aggressively pursue individuals who have missed or failed to register,” he said. “Our officers are in the field talking to them on a regular basis.”
The Fullerton city attorney and police are also working on tighter restrictions for where sex offenders may live, he said.
Staff writers Claudia Koerner and Scott Schwebke contributed to this report.
Contact the writer: kkyle@ocregister.com or (714) 796-4976
