Molester at Center of Outcry to Move Again, Official Says

A state parole official said Wednesday that Sidney Landau, the twice-convicted child molester whose attempts to settle in this north Orange County city have drawn intense public outcry, 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 Landau, 57, 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. 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 thought to be the first in Southern California to do so.

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

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 had been 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 now lives a mile away from Landau’s home and fears for his safety.

State corrections officials say Landau’s victims are entitled to ask that he live no closer than 35 miles from their homes. But Ward said Wednesday 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. Released 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.

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

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