Bill to Publicize Locations of Sex Offenders Gains

A state Senate committee Tuesday approved California’s version of “Megan’s law,” a new federal statute requiring local police to publicize the whereabouts of convicted sex offenders when they move into neighborhoods.

The Senate Criminal Procedure Committee, on a 5-0 vote, endorsed the bill after hearing compelling testimony from families whose children had been slain--including the mother of 7-year-old Megan Kanka, whose 1994 slaying inspired the law.

“They know who our children are, but we don’t know who they are,” said Maureen Kanka of New Jersey, whose daughter was raped and murdered, allegedly by a twice-convicted child molester who lived across the street.

The girl’s slaying spawned the federal “Megan’s law” requiring local police and sheriff’s departments to alert citizens when a convicted sex offender is freed. Failure by a state to enact legislation of its own can result in a reduction of federal crime-fighting funds.

Sponsored in California by Republican Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren, the election year bill appears headed for approval in the Senate and signing by Gov. Pete Wilson, aides said. It covers sexual offenses ranging from rape and molestation to indecent exposure and distributing child pornography.

In January, the measure sailed out of the Assembly 71 to 1. It faces another committee hearing, the final step before floor action by the full Senate.

Opponents of the legislation say it essentially punishes convicted criminals twice and would lead to vigilantism.

At the packed hearing Tuesday, anguished witnesses testified that when sex offenders are released from prison, they can blend anonymously into communities where they watch, stalk, befriend and finally attack children.

The law was unanimously approved by Congress and signed into law last month by President Clinton.

Joining Kanka in pleading for the measure were family members of Michael Lyons, an 8-year-old Yuba City boy who was abducted May 16 while walking home from school.

His body was found the next day along the Feather River, savagely slashed. Arrested as the prime suspect was Robert B. Rhoades, a paroled child molester who had been working as a barber two doors from a Yuba City preschool.

An emotional Sandy Lyons, the slain youngster’s mother, told the committee that no one could know “what terror and torment” filled Michael’s last hours, or the pain parents feel “when they find out that [your] child has been just totally done like that, just torn apart like that.”

Tina Lyons, Michael’s aunt, begged the committee to give parents more tools to protect their children from sexual predators.

Now, California law enforcement officials are not required to make public the fact that a registered sex offender has settled in a community.

Wilson and the Legislature, however, have enacted laws aimed at making it easier to learn the identities of sex offenders. These include a telephone hotline in which parents, for a fee, can learn if a baby-sitter, for example, has a criminal record. Another law enables citizens to inspect police photo albums of sexual criminals.

The new federal law requires local police to make public “relevant information” they consider necessary for public safety when sex offenders are turned free. It allows local authorities to set their own guidelines on the degree to which offenders will be publicized and how the information will be disseminated.

The Senate committee wrote into the California bill (AB 1562) a requirement that Lungren set standards for departments to follow based on their local needs.

Assemblywoman Barbara Alby (R-Fair Oaks), author of the bill, said release of information could occur in newspapers and on television. Other witnesses said dissemination could include door-to-door leafleting and notices on strategically placed billboards.

The state Department of Justice said there are at least 62,558 registered sex offenders in California--ranging from public park “flashers” to violent serial predators. Officials concede that the list is only 85% to 90% complete because some offenders fail to register.

The bill was opposed at Tuesday’s hearing by Katherine A. Sher of the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, which represents criminal defense lawyers, and Francisco Lobaco of the American Civil Liberties Union.

“We see [public notification] as an additional punishment on top of the punishment which people have received for their crimes,” Sher said. “We do believe it leads to vigilantism, which has been seen in other states.”

But Sen. Ross Johnson (R-Irvine) interrupted, telling Sher that publicizing the arrival of a released sex offender was merely “part of the original punishment.”

“For the rest of your life, or until you demonstrate to society that you no longer represent a danger, you are going to be reported,” Johnson said. “People have a right to know where you are.”