Proposed legislation cracking down on sexual predators could
make nearly all of Hollister off-limits to sex-offenders by
prohibiting them from living near schools or parks.
Hollister – Proposed legislation cracking down on sexual predators could make nearly all of Hollister off-limits to sex-offenders by prohibiting them from living near schools or parks.
The bill, which is California’s version of Florida’s “Jessica’s Law” and was joint-authored by State Sen. Jeff Denham, R-Merced, would ban any sex offender from living within 2,000 feet of a park or school. However, due to serious concerns raised by the American Civil Liberties Union, prisoner right’s groups and others, the bill is being held over until next year’s legislative session, according to Denham’s aide, Nick Rappley.
“Some members of the legislature have issues with some of the provisions in it. The more liberal members are aligning with the ACLU and other groups who are not real happy with this,” Rappley said. “We think the bill is fine the way it is and stands alone. The public safety of the citizens of California is first and foremost and it’s about time citizens are able to feel safe.”
But the Sexual Predator Punishment and Control Act has some concerned about where all the offenders would go if it passed the way it’s written.
Although San Benito County Sheriff Curtis Hill supports tough legislation for sex offenders, he believes certain aspects, such as prohibiting them from living within 2,000 feet of a school or park, needs to be revised before going any further.
“Two thousand feet is a long way. It creates a tremendous issue in the greater urban areas of California, and one of the concerns of rural sheriffs is that the bill will create a push-out of offenders into rural areas,” Hill said. “But every bill looks different when it finally comes out the back end. I have a big interest in the bill because, other than drugs and gangs, when you get out in the community it’s a big, big issue.”
The bill would also require all sex offenders convicted of a felony to wear a global positioning device for the rest of their lives. Current law only applies to registrants who are convicted of committing especially egregious crimes involving children, and prevents them from living within a quarter-mile, or 1,320 feet, of a school while on parole. The proposed legislation would not only add parks, and potentially other sites such as children’s museums or water parks, but it would affect all sex offenders.
Of the 34 sex offenders in San Benito County whose full addresses are posted on the state’s Megan’s Law Web site, nearly all of them live within a half-mile of a city park or one of the county’s more than 20 schools. The addresses of the other 29 sex offenders on the Web site are unlisted.
Hollister Police Chief Jeff Miller said that while he likes the concepts of the tough legislation and believes something needs to be done to track sexual predators, he said he would like to research the legislation further before taking a stance.
“This is a problem we’re seeing more and more of,” Miller said. “All of these measures are great, but they do not substitute for educating our kids and due parental vigilance. I’m for stronger measures, but we can’t place all our faith in them, we just can’t.”
He also cautioned against lumping all sex offenders into the same category with the same punishments.
“There is one class of registrants who committed one crime 30 years ago and have done nothing since,” he said. “They did something foolish when they were very young – at what point do you pay your debt?”
Miller said the number of sexual crimes against children in Hollister increased by 25 percent over last year’s 61 total cases.
“Anecdotally, I can’t say incidents are going up, maybe people are getting more comfortable reporting them,” Miller said, who added that police are getting better at disseminating the information to the public, also. “Police have come to understand the community needs to know and it helps bring the truth out.”
While the proposed bill mirrors legislation enacted in Florida after 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford was kidnapped, molested and murdered by a convicted child molester in February, most child sexual abusers do not find their victims by frequenting schools or parks, according to the Megan’s Law Web site. Often times sexual predators abuse those who they know and have established relationships with, according to the site.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently came out in support of the bill and is touting it as some of the toughest sex offender legislation in the country, which Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz said he couldn’t be happier about. De La Cruz proposed a county ordinance that would require landlords who rent property within one mile of a school or park to determine whether their tenants are registered sex offenders – a proposal the county attorney said would be unconstitutional.
However, De La Cruz said the Jessica’s Law legislation, which the entire Board of Supervisors voted to support at a recent meeting, carries far more weight because it would be implemented at the state level.
“As a parent of three kids, I wholeheartedly support it,” he said. “It’s not eliminating the risk, but it’s reducing it. At least we’re implementing some procedure to protect our kids.”
All sex offenders in the county are required to register once each year to update their residence information. To view listings of all sex offenders residing in San Benito County, go online at www.meganslaw.ca.gov
Staff Writer Lori Stuenkel contributed to this report.
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected]
