Judge extends order on McClellan

A self-proclaimed pedophile was ordered Friday to stay at least 10 yards from any child in the state by a judge who extended a temporary restraining order for three years.

Jack McClellan, 45, must stay away from areas where children are found, including parks, playgrounds and schools.

Friday’s hearing was to determine the future of the temporary order, issued Aug. 3 by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Melvin Sandvig in Chatsworth. McClellan’s attorney, Robert Wilson, had asked the court that the case be continued, but that was denied.

“We are through unless he violates the injunction,” said attorney Richard A. Patterson, who along with attorney Anthony Zinnanti sought the restraining order on behalf of their daughters and other children. “If he violates the order, then law enforcement has the order, and they can act to arrest him.”

McClellan was arrested earlier this month by UCLA police near a campus child-care center about a week after the restraining order was issued. Later that evening, he was arrested again while doing a television interview.

He was released after spending five days in jail when the city attorney’s office determined that the criminal case was defective.

Local authorities became aware of McClellan several months ago through his website. On the site, which has been taken down, he spoke of how much he enjoyed watching little girls and listed some of his favorite places to do so.

Though McClellan talked openly about his predilection for young girls, he has no criminal record. Before he came to California, law enforcement agencies in Washington state had monitored his actions.

Patterson, who has five daughters and three granddaughters, said he was pleased with the judge’s decision.

“What the judge did today was tremendous in that it restores faith. . . in the system,” he said.

McClellan, who is homeless and living out of his blue Ford Escort, said he does not know whether he can stay in California any longer because “I have no life here now.”

“I think the whole thing is kind of ridiculous when you look at it from a 1st Amendment kind of perspective,” McClellan said. “I’ve never heard anything like it. I’m not even a convicted sex offender.”

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tami.abdollah@latimes.com