Lungren Hails Success of Sex Offender List

Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren trumpeted the success of the Megan’s Law CD-ROM display at the Los Angeles County Fair on Monday, citing 10 cases in which fair-goers recognized people in direct contact with children--such as youth sports coaches--as sex offenders.

But Lungren’s office alerted the media to these cases in a news release before alerting local law enforcement, Lungren spokesman Rob Stutzman acknowledged Monday afternoon.

Although the news release does not give names, it provides some details about the discoveries. It identifies coaches in a Pomona youth sports league and a west San Gabriel Valley community’s YMCA as child molesters. But Stutzman acknowledged that the information may not be accurate and that the attorney general’s office has not had time to check it with--or notify--local authorities.

Stutzman said future information will be given to area police before it is given to the news media.

Critics of Megan’s Law, which created the publicly accessible CD-ROM listing about 64,000 of the state’s highest-risk sex offenders, said the news release shows that the statute is not really about public safety.

“This points out once again that the use of the CD-ROM and sex offender list by politicians is done for political gain rather than the seriousness of protecting the public,” said Elizabeth Schroeder, associate director of the Southern California American Civil Liberties Union. “This has become a publicity stunt.”

Pomona Police Sgt. Ronald McDonald, who found out about the sex offender in his city’s sports league from a reporter, added: “I guess their real purpose is promoting” the CD-ROM.

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The CD-ROM lists sex offenders’ names and ZIP Codes, and in some circumstances includes a photograph. When a fair-goer recognizes a sex offender and notifies state Department of Justice personnel at the fair, that information is relayed to Sacramento, Stutzman said.

Agents in Sacramento are supposed to notify local law enforcement officials. Although Monday’s news release detailed discoveries made in the first four days of the fair, Stutzman initially said that local law enforcement would not be notified until later in the week.

Later, Stutzman said the policy had been changed so all police departments will be notified the same day a fair-goer reports a sex offender.

Stutzman defended the news release, which states that more than 2,300 people used the CD-ROM and 236 people found sex offenders they knew, including 16 in direct contact with children.

“One of the reasons to take this to the fair is so people will continue to be aware of it,” Stutzman said. “It seems absolutely reasonable that we would want the public to be aware of this taxpayer-funded resource that is available to the community.”