Convicted Molester Will Find New Home

A state parole official said Wednesday that Sidney Landau, the twice-convicted child molester whose attempts to settle here prompted intense public outcry and a national media spotlight, will be moving to a new home.

“He’s in the process of looking for a place,” said Lynda Ward, a deputy regional parole administrator for the state Department of Corrections. “He will find a place and tell us where it is, and we will go check it out and make sure it’s suitable.”

Ward cited an imminent eviction proceeding against the 57-year-old man as the reason for the move. She declined to say when the move will take place, saying officials did not want to draw further attention to Landau, whose parole terms call for him to live in Orange County.

Landau’s attorney, T. Matthew Phillips, said his client would have no comment on Ward’s announcement.

Phillips said Landau only wants to be left alone.

“This is the most unfair thing a person could imagine,” Phillips said. “This is supposed to be America. I have been shocked at what I have seen. I doubt whether Placentia is part of America.”

Landau’s case has brought wide news coverage to this quiet town of 45,000 because the Placentia Police Department twice notified the public of his whereabouts, using powers granted under the controversial Megan’s Law enacted by the state Legislature last year. The city is believed to be the first in Southern California to do so.

Following Landau’s release from prison last November, police distributed leaflets with his picture and address in a neighborhood where he was living.

Last week, Landau was forced to leave there after he and his housemates received repeated threats over the telephone. He moved into a nearby apartment complex on East Yorba Linda Avenue, with approval and financial assistance from parole officials.

But new police fliers followed Landau to his new home on Saturday. Saying they were outraged and deceived, managers of the 107-unit complex immediately served Landau with a 30-day notice to leave. Residents also protested, saying their children were in danger.

At the same time, one of Landau’s victims stepped forward. David DeWyke, 26, who was molested by Landau in Anaheim when he was 10 years old, said he lives a mile away from Landau and fears for his safety.

State corrections officials said that Landau’s victims are entitled to ask that he live no closer than 35 miles from their homes. But Ward said Wednesday that so far none had done so. Landau is also barred from contacting his victims or any children.

Landau was convicted in 1982 on three counts of molesting DeWyke. After serving two years in prison, he was arrested and convicted in 1988 for molesting an 8-year-old Anaheim boy. He served eight years in prison for that offense.

It’s unknown where Landau will end up. Placentia police said that if he remains in their city, they will continue to alert his neighbors. But if he moves elsewhere, another police agency will be forced to decide whether to invoke the notification under Megan’s Law.

That is no light matter, Placentia Police Det. Corinne Loomis said. Police are obliged to protect Landau as much as anyone else in the community, she said. A highly charged public can get in the way of effective law enforcement, she added.

“It’s a marvelous tool when used judiciously,” Loomis said of Megan’s Law. “We did what we needed to do, and we’d do it again tomorrow. But it truly is a double-edged sword. You can’t do it on everybody.”

DeWyke said he hopes that parole officials will help Landau find a home where he will not be a threat to children.

“That way he could go on with his life,” DeWyke said.