In O.C., Third of Book’s Pedophiles Live in Anaheim

About one-third of the 57 known child molesters living in Orange County reside here, the home city of Disneyland, according to a book released by the attorney general’s office.

The directory of more than 900 repeat sex offenders who have targeted children throughout the state reveals that Anaheim, with 18, is home to more convicted child molesters than any other city in the county. The city is the second most populated in Orange County, behind Santa Ana.

Santa Ana and Garden Grove had the second-highest number of molesters, with seven each, while La Habra had six.

The book, which was funded under a 1994 law sponsored by California Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren, was distributed to law enforcement agencies this month “for the purposes of public access.” It lists by ZIP codes the names, descriptions, photos and convictions of the state’s worst child sex offenders.

The release of such information has left local law enforcement walking the line between the right of the public to see criminal records and the policy of some departments not to discuss previous convictions. Many departments have not decided what information to make available and how it would be accessed.

Critics of the book say such a guide would stigmatize sex offenders who have served their sentences.

Others interpret the numbers with skepticism.

“There’s the matter of how up-to-date those files are,” Anaheim Police Lt. Ted Labahn said Wednesday. “That’s always an ongoing battle.”

Anaheim police have declined to comment about the book’s specifics until they’ve consulted attorneys about making criminal records available to the public. But Labahn downplayed the number of ex-offenders living in the community better known for its tourist attractions.

“But does it have to do with Disneyland? Absolutely not,” Labahn said. “If that were true, we would have a high number of that type of offenses reported near Disneyland, and we don’t.”

Authorities said that just because a ZIP code of residency is listed in Anaheim doesn’t mean the address is within city boundaries.

“There is some overlap,” Labahn said.

Police said the area has a high number of rental units, which may attract convicts who don’t stay in the area long but who leave their mark in the city’s sex offender register.

The high number also could reflect the fact that both a probation office and a state parole office are in the city, and many convicted molesters use the offices’ addresses when they register as a sex offender, Labahn said.

“When [the sex offenders] are released from jail, they’re allowed to use the parole or probation office as their address until they get settled,” Labahn said. “Now they’re supposed to change that address, but that’s not always the case.”

Indeed, other police departments have found inaccuracies in their sex offenders register. In Huntington Beach, a recent review of the city’s list revealed one person who was dead, Police Lt. Dan Johnson said Wednesday.

And detectives regularly find sex offenders living in their cities who are not registered, although the law requires them to notify authorities within 10 days of relocating. Because cities don’t report to one another each time a person is added to the sex offender register, there is a chance that one person might be registered in two cities, authorities said.

Of about 37,000 convicted child molesters in California, 912 repeat offenders were included in the attorney general’s book. The state also set up a 900 number for the same purpose of allowing the public to get information about sex offenders.

Since July, about 3,500 people have requested information, said Michael Van Winkle, spokesman for the state Department of Justice. About 9% of the time, the individuals targeted in the inquiry are past child sex offenders, he said.

“That means that there are good reasons for them to be suspicious, considering that most of our other programs to check criminal histories only turn up something about 1% of the time,” Van Winkle said.

Generally, he said, people are concerned about a relative in a relationship with someone suspicious and want to check.

Others want to check on a neighbor or a co-worker, while hospitals and other institutions dealing with children also call to check on prospective employees or volunteers.

Sex offenders in Orange County listed in the book are all men, ages 29 to 74. To be on the list, the former convict must have committed a crime in the last five years, Van Winkle said. The types of offenses include sodomy with a child under the age of 14, a lewd and lascivious act with a child under 14 and oral copulation. One 74-year-old man registered in Anaheim had 40 convictions of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14.

“The more information that is available to the public, the better, I think,” Police Lt. Johnson said, adding that sex offenders “tend to be predators who commit these types of crimes again and again.”

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Where They Live

A review of the book of the state’s worst child molesters reveals that 57 are living in Orange County. Here’s the breakdown of their whereabouts by city and ZIP code:

City/area: Number

Anaheim: 18

Brea: 1

Buena Park: 1

Costa Mesa: 1

Dana Point: 2

Fullerton: 4

Garden Grove: 7

Huntington Beach: 2

*

City/area Number

La Habra 6

Lake Forest: 1

Newport Beach: 1

Orange: 1

Rancho Santa Margarita: 1

San Juan Capistrano: 1

Santa Ana: 7

Tustin: 1

Westminster: 2

ZIP code Number

90620: 1

90631: 6

92621: 1

92626: 1

92629: 2

92630: 1

92631: 1

92632: 1

92633: 2

92640: 3

ZIP code Number

92641: 1

92643: 3

92647: 1

92648: 1

92660: 1

92669: 1

92675: 1

92680: 1

92683: 2

92688: 1

92701: 1

ZIP code Number

92702: 2

92703: 1

92704: 2

92707: 1

92801: 4

92802: 3

92803: 1

92804: 3

92805: 2

92806: 4

92807: 1

Source: California attorney general; Researched by THAO HUA / Los Angeles Times