Sex Criminals’ Presence Made Public in 3 Cities

Hoping to avoid protests and “hysteria” over the whereabouts of registered sex offenders, police in three Orange County cities tried to discreetly notify residents Monday of 17 high-risk offenders in their communities.

The departments acted on the eve of the public debut of a CD-ROM indexing California’s most high-risk sex criminals. By acting in concert and releasing the names all at once, police hoped to avoid the daily picketing and news coverage that accompanied the release of individual names earlier this year.

The first three offenders to be identified in Orange County under Megan’s Law ultimately were forced to move out of their cities.

“We want to be open about this, but we don’t want to create the kind of hysteria that notifying the public has brought in the past,” said Anaheim Police Sgt. Joe Vargas, whose department refused to release the names of the city’s seven high-risk sex offenders to the media. “This is a community issue, and it should be handled that way, not broadcast all over the county.”

In the three cities, the approach used by police varied.

In Santa Ana, police mailed more than 1,000 handbills to residents. In Garden Grove, officials released information about three high-risk sex offenders not to residents themselves, but to post offices, schools and media. In Anaheim, more than 75 officers and volunteers went door to door with fliers.

In all three cities, officials distributed the information only to the immediate neighborhoods and did not disclose specific addresses.

“For now, anyway, it will make things a lot easier for us,” Garden Grove Lt. John Woods said. “We hope the notification will go a little smoother, in a more toned-down manner than it has before.”

The strategy appeared to be working in many neighborhoods, with residents responding largely the way police intended: with interest, not anger.

In Santa Ana, Oralia Leon examined the flier identifying Rodney Bruce Perez, 39, as both her neighbor and a convicted child molester and shook her head. She said residents in the 2500 block of West Pomona Street gathered Monday morning to discuss the flier.

“I’m very worried now that he may do something to harm one of the children on the street,” she said. “At least now we know to be careful. We are glad the police told us.”

Several blocks away, news that Harry Loven Rowley, a 44-year-old convicted rapist, was living in or near the Caravana mobile home park disturbed the park’s manager, Yolanda Carrillo.

“We always considered this mobile home park safe, but maybe it’s not as safe as we think,” she said. “It’s scary, but it’s best that everyone know.”

In Garden Grove, a neighbor in the apartment complex on Jentges Avenue where convicted child molester Marc T. Hall lives said he would watch the 40-year-old electronics repairman “like a dog” but did not feel terribly threatened by his presence.

“He’s a nice guy,” said the neighbor, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Nobody really complained or said much when we found out.”

Hall has “been around here a while now, and there’s been no problems,” neighbor Anton LeVarge said. “I’d like to hold on to the belief that some people can change and will, if given half a chance.”

Police called Monday’s response from neighbors reasonable and hoped it would continue, especially as the CD-ROM becomes available to the public today at nine law enforcement agencies.

“The downside of this law is how quickly it can be abused,” said La Habra Police Chief Steven Staveley, who as president of the Orange County Police Chiefs Assn. has pushed for a uniform approach by police departments to the notification process. “If we keep getting these media frenzies and neighborhood displays that we’ve had in the past, we run the risk of driving these people underground and never knowing where they are.”

Officials said they’ve determined that the address information on the statewide CD-ROM might be incorrect in as many as 45% of the entries, making it crucial that residents don’t overreact.

“Residents could come in here and potentially find 17 high-risk sex offenders on that disk who are supposedly living in Anaheim,” although less than half that number have been confirmed, Vargas said. “With information comes responsibility, and we all have to be very careful.”

Also contributing to this report were Times correspondents John Canalis and Hope Hamashige.

* THE OTHER SIDE

Convicted sex offenders have mixed feelings about Megan’s Law. B8

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

High-Risk Offenders

Acting under Megan’s Law, police in three Orange County cities notified residents on Monday of the following convicted sex offenders:

*

SANTA ANA

Seven high-risk offenders, two of whom are transients with no known address. Notification was made by mail to the neighbors of the other five:

* Larry A. Schadick

Age: 58

Address: 100 block of East Goetz Avenue

Convictions: Child molestation

* Samuel Joseph Chairez

Age: 36

Address: 800 block of South Fairview Street

Conviction: Served three years for 11 counts of child molestation.

* Robert Dale Fitzhugh

Age: 43

Address: Transient

Conviction: Sentenced to three years for a 1984 rape, was released early and found guilty of an attempted rape in 1986.

* Robert Anderson Higgins

Age: 65

Address: Transient

Conviction: Child molestation

* Rodney Bruce Perez

Age: 39

Address: 2500 block of West Pomona Street

Convictions: Child molestation

* Harry L. Rowley

Age: 44

Address: 300 block of South Sullivan Street

Conviction: Rape

* Craig Allen Williams

Age: 37

Address: 2900 block of South Bradford Place

Convictions: Child molestation

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GARDEN GROVE

Three high-risk offenders; police notified public and private schools and post offices in the neighborhoods. Details on offenders, including photographs, also released to community news publications Monday:

* Marc Tad Hall

Age: 40

Address: 12000 block of Jentges Avenue

Convictions: Child molestation. Sentenced to eight years for molesting two girls in his neighborhood.

* Norman Douglas Parker

Age: 40

Address: 12000 block of Sylvan Street

Conviction: Child molestation

* Antonio Castro Perez

Age: 54

Address: 13000 block of Siemon Street

Convictions: Child molestation

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ANAHEIM

Has seven high-risk offenders. Neighbors were notified in person by police and volunteers with fliers detailing individuals and crimes. Residents may view state’s CD-ROM that indexes California’s worst sex offenders beginning today by calling (714) 254-1571 for an appointment.

Source: Individual police departments and court records; Researched by BONNIE HAYES and HOPE HAMASHIGE / For The Times