Parolee Surrenders Keys to Avoid Lockup

Sid Landau, a convicted child molester who has been forced to move three times since his release from prison in November, turned in the keys to his former Placentia apartment complex Wednesday to avoid arrest, a parole official said.

Landau, 57, moved Friday to a motel in Fullerton. But police said he continued to frequent the Placentia apartment complex, where about 40 children live.

“A number of people complained that their children lived there, and they felt at risk with him being there,” said Lynda Ward, spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections’ parole division. “We wanted to make sure he did not have free rein of that property because he had the key.”

Landau has been the target of several protests since Placentia police distributed fliers with his name, address and picture on them, in keeping with Megan’s Law, which allows police to warn neighbors of a sex offender’s presence.

Landau moved to Placentia after serving eight years of his 17-year sentence for molesting an 8-year-old Anaheim boy. This was his second conviction for molesting a boy under 14.

On Wednesday, Landau’s parole officer escorted him to his previous home at the Terrace, an apartment complex on Yorba Linda Boulevard in Placentia, to deliver the keys to his landlord. While he willingly returned the key, his attorney, T. Matthew Phillips, said it is this type of constant harassment that won’t permit Landau to get on with his life.

“What he did in the past was wrong, but that’s why he went to jail,” Phillips said. “This is unfair. Every day, it’s, ‘Sid, we’re going to lock you up. We’re going to lock you up.’ He’s not going to do anything to anybody. It’s the people you don’t know that you have to worry about.”

Fullerton police have decided not to make Landau’s new address public. They said there are no children living at the motel, and it is only a temporary living situation until parole agents can locate a permanent residence for him.

“This particular residence is good because it’s not near a school, not in a residential area, and there are no parks around,” Ward said. “It’s an ideal location for him, but I can’t say whether it’s permanent or not. We would like to have him be able to be settle down somewhere.”

Phillips, however, said the new location is barely livable.

“There is no phone, no kitchen, the toilet doesn’t work,” Phillips said. “He might as well be in jail.”

Landau has filed a claim against the city of Placentia alleging that officials have violated his constitutional rights. He is also considering filing a claim against the Department of Corrections, Phillips said.