Where sex offenders live -- and why you don't know [CA](Very Scary- Must Read)

The 54 high risk offenders, part 1 (PDF)

The 54 high risk offenders, part 2 (PDF)

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After this article, I don't think Ismael lives at the same place anymore.

But a Mercury News study shows California's system retains a distinction:

It is one of the least informative and most inaccurate in the country.

The state that gave birth to the computer revolution is one of nine that do not publish sex offender information online.

It has not joined the 13 states that regularly inform neighbors, by phone call or flier, of nearby sex offenders.

While other states regularly audit Megan's Law lists, California's neglected database has an error rate near 25 percent.

And the tiny number of residents each year who view this database, available only at police departments, find scant information. Thirty-five states provide addresses and many include such details as places of employment and license-plate numbers. In California there is little more than a picture, a ZIP code and the penal code sections the offenders violated.

To assess California's Megan's Law, the Mercury News obtained details from unnamed sources on the 54 ``high-risk'' sex offenders listed as living in the region.

Of the more than 4,000 sex offenders on the area's Megan's Law list, they are the ones who have committed multiple violent offenses, including at least one violent sex offense like rape or child molestation, and are considered most likely to offend again.

The Mercury News found child molesters living next to parks where children congregate, across from schools, even in a rented room in a home with small children. Most sex offenders who have completed their sentences have the right to live where they want, as long as they register with local police. But few of their neighbors knew their histories.

``Old cons are like generals. All we want to do is fade away,'' said Benjamin Sam, 55, who rents a room in a San Jose home where a mother and her 20-year-old daughter and her family live. They did not know Sam is a twice-convicted rapist.

``Who wants their dirty laundry out in the street? Everybody has skeletons in their closets,'' Sam said.

While some of the issues with California's Megan's Law have emerged from shoddy oversight, others stem from the law's design.

State officials adopted a restrictive system in 1996 in part because of legislators' privacy concerns, and in part because they feared the courts would not allow wide distribution of sex offender information.

Today, the legal obstacles have mostly fallen away, but efforts to overhaul Megan's Law continue to capsize in a Legislature where key lawmakers and some civil rights groups believe sex offenders deserve at least the chance to live in peace.

``We are taking tens of thousands of individuals and deciding which ones pose a future threat and which ones do not,'' said Francisco Lobaco, a lobbyist for the American Civil Liberties Union in Sacramento. ``And with the Internet, there is a far greater potential for abuse, a potential for harassment and discrimination.''

Some offenders, the Mercury News found, seem to be living responsible lives. But others molest and rape again. Studies show that convicted sex offenders often commit additional sex crimes, although there is vigorous debate about how to assess the threat.

There also is disagreement about whether better information about sex offenders could stave off these offenses. Not even the law's staunchest advocates can cite studies that indicate strong Megan's Laws help prevent crime.

But officials in states with more-aggressive Megan's Laws insist their residents are safer, because they are more alert to potentially dangerous situations. And they say any negatives to publicizing sex offender information -- a panicky public or vigilantism -- have largely failed to materialize.

``California just doesn't seem to have the commitment to Megan's Law that other states have,'' said Laura Ahearn, executive director of Parents for Megan's Law, a New York-based non-profit group. ``There is a lot of talk there by the politicians, but no action. There is a lack of money, yes, but also a lack of standards, lack of coordination and a lack of will to do it right.''

Like most offenders on California's list, Otero, who said he has been out of jail for 14 years, insists he has tried to follow Megan's Law. He registered in January and has not been investigated or convicted of a sex crime since his release from custody.

``Look, I did wrong and I accept that, I feel really bad about it,'' said Otero, who was convicted for molesting two children, the daughters of friends. ``I've given 120 percent to be a better person. I wouldn't want that to happen to my kids. But I'm not a predator.''

The purpose of Megan's Law seemed clear. In 1996, then-President Bill Clinton signed legislation compelling each state to create and publicize a comprehensive sex offender registry or face a loss of federal funds.

``From now on, every state in the country will be required by law to tell a community when a dangerous sexual predator enters its midst,'' he said. ``Today, America warns: If you dare to prey on our children, the law will follow you wherever you go, state to state, town to town.''

So why don't Otero's neighbors know he is a sex offender?

Hiding in plain sight

A look at the area's high-risk sex offenders provides an illustration of how Megan's law works in the state.

• Ten of the 54 are not where the database says: Three are in county jail, two are in prison, one is committed to a state hospital, one has been deported and three are missing.

• Thirty-five of the 54 high-risk sex offenders are convicted child molesters, although that's not always clear from the database. Thirty-one live in neighborhoods with children, and 19 live near schools, three of them within a tenth of a mile.

• In the neighborhoods checked, residents -- dozens in all -- were asked whether they knew that a registered sex offender lived nearby. Only a handful did.

And the offenders? They were surprised the Mercury News found them. ``Are you a cop?'' many of them asked.

The region's high-risk sex offenders are all men. Many have jobs, but a few are unemployed. Some are homeowners, some rent, nine are homeless. Some are married, a few with children.

Many of them, if they had been convicted under today's tougher sentencing laws, would be spending their lives in prison. Instead they are free and -- mostly -- enjoying the benefits of anonymity.

``No one knows about this,'' said one woman who is married to an elderly high-risk sex offender in San Jose. ``Our neighbors don't know. My job doesn't know. My family doesn't know. No one uses Megan's Law. No one ever checks.''

Shortly after her interview, the woman said her husband moved to San Francisco in part because San Jose intends to post sex offender information online.

Nor do neighbors know about the married salesman who lives in a handsome San Jose-area home. He was convicted in 1980 of a series of child molestations.

``There is no excuse for what I did,'' said the man, who spoke on the condition he would not be named. ``But people change. People make mistakes. Mine were terrible. But murderers get out and they could be living next door to anyone.''

Some sex offenders, however, don't change.

Carlitos Saucedo was an employee at an East Palo Alto home improvement store who volunteered to teach woodworking to kids. He was also a convicted child molester, although not in the high-risk category.

In the summer of 2002, Saucedo took three young boys to an Alameda County swimming hole and molested them. He pleaded no contest to child molestation charges at the end of October and is expected to be sentenced to 12 years in prison in January.

A cumbersome system

Neither the families of the victims nor Saucedo's employer knew of his history, but that is not surprising. Very few people have chosen to use California's system.

Last year, according to state officials, the Megan's Law database was viewed at law enforcement agencies 22,930 times, including repeat viewings. That's fewer than .06 percent of the state's 35 million people.

In San Jose, with a population of 900,000, the city's database was viewed 482 times last year; as of Friday, there have been 312 viewings this year.

Contrast this with states that put their information on the Internet. Connecticut's site, which recently went online, received 3 million hits in its first month.

``It is one of the most underused tools we have in law enforcement,'' said Pat Dwyer, Hayward's acting police chief. ``The state's criminal justice system has made it so cumbersome to use.''

But many police departments and sheriff's offices also restrict use of the database. Some require appointments. Others have time limits, and several prohibit taking notes.

Pam Jeppesen went to the San Jose Police Department to learn whether rumors of a child molester on her block were true. Fifteen minutes in, the mother of two managed to get to the list of names, none of which she recognized. But she had also run up against San Jose's 15-minute limit, so she left.

If she had more time, she might have come across Robert Singleton, a twice-convicted child molester.

Until recently, he lived next door.

After the Mercury News inquired about the 15-minute limit, San Jose police ended it last month. Police said they imposed the limit at a time when they thought they would be flooded with interest.

Residents like Jeppesen confront another obstacle: State law says the database can offer only offenders' zip codes. In East Palo Alto, that means residents can't find out whether sex offenders live in their city or in neighboring Palo Alto, parts of which share the same zip code.

``The system is so imperfect in so many ways,'' Police Chief Wes Bowling said. ``It's a mess.''

In 13 states, law enforcement must alert neighbors when a convicted sex offender moves in. California leaves that decision to individual police departments. Most choose not to, saying they don't have the resources.

Even in San Jose, where the police department is especially aggressive at tracking sex offenders, neighbors of 17 high-risk sex offenders have not been notified in the past three years. The last notification on Otero was four years ago, when he lived in a different house in the same neighborhood. Asked why there hasn't been another, detective James Menard said notifications are expensive, and grow ``dramatically ineffective'' within months because school administrations, students and neighborhoods change.

In other cases, notifications lead to results -- but also to frustration.

After discovering that a high-risk sex offender worked at a skating rink in Milpitas, Sgt. Ted Marfia of the Santa Clara County sheriff's sexual-assault task force told managers about convicted child molester Thomas Kalani Monte. Shocked, the managers fired the popular employee, who had worked there about a year.

Cal-Skate manager DiDi Ford then went to the Milpitas Police Department to see whether any other employees were listed in the database.

When Ford called the department, she was told she could not search by name, which is not true. When she arrived, she waited 20 minutes while her background was checked.

She was directed to a dusty computer behind a potted plant. The computer wasn't plugged in. Then the passwords and directions were wrong. Finally, a sergeant managed to log on. But even using many of the optional search fields, Ford said she couldn't easily find Monte's name, although it is in the database. Two hours later, she had managed to get through only a small list of employees. She walked out, disgusted.

``We are in the technological center of the state, come on,'' Ford said. ``If I were not an English-speaking person who might be a little outgoing, I would hesitate to go in to use that system.''

Database errors

The problems are worse than Ford knows.

The state Department of Justice spends an estimated $3 million a year on its Megan's Law program. But earlier this year, after their first audit of the database, officials reported they did not know the whereabouts of more than 30,000 of the state's 100,000 registered sex offenders. Since then, the department has removed 6,000 names -- many of whom either were in prison, out of state or dead.

Still, California has one of the worst error rates in the country, said Ahearn, the executive director of Parents for Megan's Law. In Florida, by comparison, about 5 percent of registered sex offenders are unaccounted for.

Even months after a state audit highlighted the problems, obvious mistakes remain.

Thesolonia Baker is identified as one of two high-risk sex offenders in Campbell's 95008 zip code. But Baker, 40, hasn't lived in that zip code since 1995. He's in state prison serving a 61-year sentence for kidnapping a woman with intent to rape her.

Everyone agrees that one of the major problems with the database is its size. Today, California has 100,000 offenders in its registry -- including about 16,600 offenders in the lowest-risk category whose identities cannot be disclosed publicly. No other state has more than about 30,000 offenders.

With such a gigantic database and 100,000 estimated changes a year, there will always be bugs.

For example, the Hemet Police Department in Southern California, contributed 89 name duplications to the database, auditors found. The department explained that a mentally disabled volunteer did not check whether the information had already been sent.

But other errors, officials say, are the result of a Byzantine system undermined by a lack of money, training and coherence. Attorney General Bill Lockyer says budget cuts have forced him to reduce California's Megan's Law training staff from six people to one.

Changes in the works

After seven years, frustration over Megan's Law appears to be boiling over. An initiative by a San Diego legislator to post information on the Web is in the works. Some residents are creating their own lists, which include more information than the state gives out.

And just last month, the San Jose City Council joined a growing number of municipalities that are putting information about offenders online. In San Jose, that information -- expected to be posted later this month -- will not include exact addresses because of legal concerns, but blocks where offenders live.

What would more available information mean? Some fear that sex offenders who have overcome their problems will have no chance at normal lives. Others worry about fear-mongering, even vigilantism.

But there is also hope that the information will be well-used.

In the summer of 2000, Mark Fernandez recalls, he was working in a Mountain View body shop when he saw a black Mustang that had pulled up alongside a young girl at a bus stop.

He had seen the driver's description on a Megan's Law flier police handed out about a serial sex criminal. Fernandez walked toward the 16-year-old.

``If I was you, I would not climb into that car,'' he called out.

``She's my friend,'' the man responded, grabbing the girl by the arm. ``I'm taking her to Target.''

``If she is your friend, then she will know about this,'' Fernandez said, handing her the flier. Frank Ramirez, then 38, dropped the girl's arm and sped away. He was arrested later in the week, and was sentenced to 27 years to life in prison for attempting to attack that girl.

It was a Megan's Law success story. Except that more than three years later, Californians who check the database can type in the 94043 zip code and see Ramirez's face and name as if he were on the streets.

Said Fernandez: ``I honestly believe if I didn't go over there that girl would be dead. I wish more people would step up to the plate in the state, politicians and the people.''

>>>>``Who wants their dirty laundry out in the street? Everybody has skeletons in their closets,'' Sam said.

I just love that attitude. Guess what? NOT everyone has a skeleton in their closet. Any just because some do, does not make it right to have them!

Here is a pretty good resource.

Links for finding sex offenders in every state

The state that gave birth to the computer revolution is one of nine that do not publish sex offender information online.

Some cities or counties have some unspecific information online, but most don't. On the San Diego perv pin map, they have approximate locations of registered offenders. As long as CA withholds convenient public information about the sex offenders, our state will attract them the way San Francisco attracts homeless people.

California's neglected database has an error rate near 25 percent.

That's better than not having any database. Remember a few months ago, during RecallGrayDavis season, the CA legislature almost didn't bother to renew Megan's law or funding for it. This was clearly not important to the Democrats setting the agenda, while things like SB2(mandatory health insurance from employers), SB60(illegal alien ID), special employment rights for transvestites, etc. were all scheduled and given far more consideration. Of course, with our expensive contracts with database companies like Oracle, you'd think we could handle 100,000 registries without so many errors.

There also is disagreement about whether better information about sex offenders could stave off these offenses. Not even the law's staunchest advocates can cite studies that indicate strong Megan's Laws help prevent crime.

But, if more people knew that their neighbor were a convicted child molester with a high-risk of repeat offenses, more would probably demand to be allowed to carry guns and that CA enact fewer gun restrictions. I don't think the liberals in our legislature want anything like that.

I just love that attitude. Guess what? NOT everyone has a skeleton in their closet. Any just because some do, does not make it right to have them!

I'm pretty sure I've seen him...

The criminal in the article??? *shivers*

Yep. Benjamin Sam hisself. Apparently he lives about five blocks away from me. Don't know exactly where I've seen him. The 7-11? Taco Bell? Gas station?...

at the place i work,a rapist got a job working at night and no one knew until after he had killed a woman three blocks from the store...women were working with him at night and nobody had been told about his past.....and not only was he a rapist,but doing drugs the entire time he worked for us....

Geezus, that is disturbing. Do you have children? Obviously there are criminals everyway; but I don't think I could handle knowing for sure that someone like that lived that close to me.

Why did they close Alcatraz? Can't you guys vote to get it reopened?

Why weren't background checks run? Or were they and employers getting some kinds of kick back incentive to hire these people?

Isn't it against the law to endanger the welfare of others?

Alcatraz was a federal prison. Replaced by newer more efficient. Makes money as a tourist site.

I know that. I've been there.

Why can't CA vote to have it reopened and use it?

Thank you for posting this important story.

What many parents do not know or understand or perhaps they refuse to believe, is that these released high risk sex offenders seek work wherever they will not be background checked, including work as ride and game operators at street fairs and carnivals and teaching jobs within martial arts studios.

Our local police station allows access to the "Meghan Computer," but the wait to log onto the computer can be as long as 30 minutes while the desk officer runs a background check on the searcher.

The police require the searcher fill out a form stating their reason for checking the Meghan computer files and then certifying that they are not a convicted sex offender themselves. After signing the form a searcher is then required to surrender their valid driver's license for the duration they are logged onto the Meghan Computer.

Police officers often walk by, peering over the searcher's shoulder and asking who the searcher is looking for while logged onto the computer. It can be rather intimidating for parents who are attempting to check names of adults who have contact with their children.

Even when there is a match on a name, zip code or face, there is no method to verify that the person is the same person as the one you believe you may know.

The files do not have the photos of all convicted, registered "compliant" predators. Also police have said that registered sexual offenders often change their names when filling out lease, rental and job applications.

Most disturbing is that the computer lists only those convicted sexual offenders who at some point have been in compliance with the law. And of course it only lists those sexual offenders who have been caught.

It is federal property. It is old and not efficient to run. We usually don't vote on prison sites. The state gets local approval and the legislature approves the money. Won't get local approval, much less receive the island from the feds.

Geezus, that is disturbing.

No kidding

Do you have children?

Yes, but the spend most of their time at their mom's, and he preys on adults.

Obviously there are criminals everyway; but I don't think I could handle knowing for sure that someone like that lived that close to me.

I may have a little talk with him next time I see him...

Why did they close Alcatraz?

The salt air was rusting the re-bar and causing the concrete to crumble. It was no longer secure.

Can't you guys vote to get it reopened?

I suppose, but there are better facilities replacing this tourist attraction already...

>>>>It is old and not efficient to run

No it wasn't. That was the 'official' decision. There was an entire story behind J. Hoover and John Kennedy. It was more of one being a nudge to the other.

>>>>The state gets local approval and the legislature approves the money.

If enough people expressed an interest in it being reopened a bill could be submitted.

CA could work out a deal with the feds whether it is buying it, leasing it, or something.

I just don't know why the locals wouldn't want it reopened.

"Why weren't background checks run?"

According to the owner of a carnival ride company who does background check potential employees, it takes time and costs money.

Yet this particular business owner found a newly paroled convicted child molester among recent job applicants. Background check costs are cheap when the customers are vulnerable children with complacent parents.