Most Sex Offenders List Wrong Valley Address

The majority of the convicted sex offenders who reported they would live in the western San Fernando Valley aren’t at the addresses they gave police, authorities said Saturday.

Of the 300 child molesters, rapists and other sex offenders believed to be living in the West Valley as of a few weeks ago, investigators determined that only about 80 had properly notified authorities of their whereabouts as required by state law.

The remainder, who were listed in state and local records as residing in the West Valley, have been determined to be dead, deported, in another jurisdiction or simply missing.

“It shows that we need to do more work,” said Los Angeles Police Det. Diane Webb. “The state is only the repository for information local agencies put into the system. Unless someone tells them different, it doesn’t change.”

Investigators who fanned across the West Valley to check on offenders’ whereabouts in person Saturday arrested five people on warrants related to other crimes, Webb said. Offenders who were found but who had not registered with police could still be subject to prosecution, she said.

Using various databases and other information to update records on the 300 offenders before the sweep helped to narrow the list and led investigators to some offenders who had left the state, including one who had skipped out on parole and had been in Bullhead City, Ariz., for two years, Webb said.

Saturday’s action was one in a series of periodic sweeps by local and state authorities to track down errant offenders.

State officials have struggled to improve the accuracy of their records since the introduction of Megan’s Law, which allows police to publicize the whereabouts of registered sex offenders.

California’s version of the law also called for a CD-ROM containing information on the state’s 64,000 registered offenders to be made available to the public.

The database, which can be viewed at Los Angeles police stations and Los Angeles County sheriff’s stations, allows users to search for offenders by ZIP Code, but critics have said it is worthless if the information is unreliable.

Critics also have warned that the state law will force more sexual predators into hiding. Failure to register is a felony.

“If they’re in compliance, we don’t have any problem,” Webb said. She said offenders contacted by the police Saturday offered excuses for not registering.

“They [said they] forgot, or they didn’t know the rules,” Webb said. “Well, the rules are pretty clear.”