Police arrested a 30-year-old registered sex offender after he
allegedly followed two sisters, 14 and 11, who were on their way to
school.
Police arrested a 30-year-old registered sex offender after he allegedly followed two sisters, 14 and 11, who were on their way to school.
About 8:20 a.m. Friday, police pulled over a white Toyota SUV driven by Armando Sanchez near the corner of Fourth and Church streets and arrested him for annoying or molesting a child younger than 18 and driving with a suspended license, both misdemeanors. One of the victims identified him at the scene as the man who followed her and her sister earlier that week. Sanchez, who lived on the 8100 block of Forest Street, is a registered sex offender, according to police, but he did not show up on the Megan’s Law Web site, which tracks California sex offenders.
About 9:15 a.m. Wednesday, two girls reported that they were being followed by a Hispanic man in his mid-20s driving a white Ford Explorer or Jeep Cherokee without a front grill, police said. He slowly drove past them on the 7600 block of Hanna Street – between Third and Fourth streets – at least three times, slowing down each time to smile and give the peace sign to the sisters as they walked to their separate schools.
After the third loop, the man made a U-turn and drove northbound on Hanna Street toward the girls, who were walking in that direction. They crossed the road during his maneuver, though, causing the man to keep on driving, police said.
When the older sister kept walking on Hanna toward Brownell Middle School just a block north, she told her younger sister to stay close to a woman and another young girl walking west on Third Street toward El Roble Elementary School, which sits about six blocks west from that location, near the intersection of Wren Avenue and Third Street.
Before the younger sister could make it to El Roble, though, the man drove by again – nearing her for the fifth time – and actually stopped near Third and Rea streets. According to the 11-year-old, who notified school officials who called police, the man stepped out of the SUV and yelled in English, “Don’t run. I’m not going to do anything to you.”
“She was obviously spooked by this, so she picked up her pace to catch up with the adult in front of her, and when he saw this, he drove away,” Sgt. Jim Gillio said. “He took it to the next level. There was a pattern and an overt attempt to bother the victims.”
Although Sanchez is a registered sex offender, police could not disclose his previous offenses, Gillio said. According to the Megan’s Law Web site, about 25 percent of registered sex offenders are excluded from public disclosure by law and, therefore, do not appear online.
“Whether public disclosure is permitted is based on the type of sex crime for which the person is required to register,” according to the Web site.
Because Sanchez was arrested again, police were able to disclose that he’s a registered sex offender, but not his previous charges, said Gillio. He did not know if Sanchez’ previous offenses were in Santa Clara County or if Sanchez knew the girls.
In the general sense, Gillio explained that if police receive information that a registrant who was not originally subject to public disclosure commits a new crime and police feel that the registrant is a threat to public safety, they may notify the community.
“It gives police some teeth to protect the public,” he said.
The Megan’s Law Web site has also made it easier for community members to be aware of registered sex offenders living in their neighborhood, he said. The public used to have to go down to their local police department and look through a list of the area’s registered sex offenders. Currently, the Megan’s Law Web site lists sex offenders – some by home address and some by zip code – depending on the severity of their offense. However, offenders in the undisclosed category are not listed on the Web site but must still register as sex offenders to police, Gillio said.
Reporter Chris Bone contributed to this story.
