San Benito County’s top cops said nearly all of the area’s
registered sex offenders are where they should be and are not
unchecked.
San Benito County’s top cops said nearly all of the area’s registered sex offenders are where they should be and are not unchecked.
Answering concerns raised by a new report that indicated the state has lost track of more than 33,000 convicted sex offenders, Sheriff Curtis Hill and Hollister Police Chief Bill Pierpoint said sex offenders registered locally are not missing.
“The San Benito County Sheriff’s Office can say that we stay on top of them all the time,” Hill said.
Pierpoint and Hill said both departments have aggressive registration programs.
“We pretty actively pursue our sex offenders,” Pierpoint said. “We definitely try and keep tabs on sex offenders.”
A registered sex offender is someone convicted of certain sex-related offenses. By law the person is required, for life, to register with local law enforcement whenever they move into or out of a community.
They have to re-register every year within three days of their birthday or face arrest and possibly being sent back to prison for up to three years.
“We routinely file cases against people who don’t register on time,” Pierpoint said.
There are currently 87 registered sex offenders living in San Benito County. Of the 87 registrants, 68 of them live within the city limits of Hollister.
Like Pierpoint, Hill said the sheriff’s department ensures sex offenders register when they are suppose.
“If they don’t show up when they are suppose to, we go out and hunt them down,” Hill said. “I have a very aggressive staff.”
Sex offenders are registered in three categories: High risk, serious and other. There are two high-risk offenders registered in the area, one in Hollister and one in the unincorporated area of the county. There are 71 serious offenders and 16 listed in as other.
“This is a very big deal with me, and we don’t want any of these guys falling through the cracks,” Hill said.
But Pierpoint said the higher risk offenders have to be watched closely or they will try to slip away.
“There were some who were listed as being here, that we don’t know where they are,” Pierpoint said. “They have probably moved out of state, but we have already sent reports about them to the state.”
The report that raised concerns stated the state Department of Justice did not know the location of at least 33,296 sex offenders, or 44 percent of the 76,350 who registered at least once.
Hill said the serious offenders often use manipulation to take advantage of their victims.
“Part of the makeup of these offenders is that they are very manipulative,” Hill said. “It even shows when they come in here to register, especially with the offenders who victimize children.”
He said a pedophile masters the art of manipulating people and their emotions.
“They probably manipulate hundreds of children in their lifetime,” Hill said.
