Gilroy
– Personal details about 84 sex offenders living in Gilroy are
now available at the click of a mouse.
A new Megan’s Law Web site, launched by California Attorney
General Bill Lockyer Wednesday, allows Gilroyans to view photos,
home addresses and other information that identifies people living
in this city who have been convicted of crimes such as child
molestation, indecent exposure and rape.
By Lori Stuenkel
Gilroy – Personal details about 84 sex offenders living in Gilroy are now available at the click of a mouse.
A new Megan’s Law Web site, launched by California Attorney General Bill Lockyer Wednesday, allows Gilroyans to view photos, home addresses and other information that identifies people living in this city who have been convicted of crimes such as child molestation, indecent exposure and rape.
The site – at http://MegansLaw.ca.gov – provides detailed information on more than 63,000 registered sex offenders in the state.
The information for each offender listed on the site includes a name, photograph, ZIP code, county, age, gender, race, known aliases and a physical description of height, weight, eye and hair color, and any identifying marks such as tattoos and scars.
Home addresses, down to the apartment number, are provided for more serious offenders – of which there are 56 in Gilroy and 35,000 state-wide.
Lockyer called the long awaited site, sponsored by the Department of Justice, an “important tool” that “will help Californians better protect their families and help law enforcement keep track of offenders who have violated registration laws.”
Megan’s Law is named for Megan Kanka, a 7-year-old New Jersey girl murdered in 1994 by a convicted sex offender who lived across the street from her, unbeknownst to her parents. Now, all 50 states have similar laws that require public access to sex-offender data, and many provide the information online.
Before this Web site’s launch, Gilroy residents had to go to the Gilroy Police Department, by appointment, to view sex offender information for 15 minutes at a time, accompanied by an officer.
The ease of at-home access makes the Web site a bonus for the police department, according to officers.
“I think it’ll be a positive thing,” said Detective Michael Beebe, who investigates sexual assaults. “It’ll make Megan’s Law information more accessible to people. Instead of having to take time off work or leave home to do it, they can do it right from home.
“With that information available to the public, I think it’ll help in the long run, if people call about suspicious people or they recognize people from (the) Megan’s Law (site) and think, ‘Maybe they’re not supposed to be here.’ ”
A disclaimer on the site, which visitors must read before accessing it, offers a reminder that the information provided may not be used to harass an offender or the person’s family members, under threat of both criminal prosecution and civil liability.
Beebe said any Gilroy resident who is concerned about a sex offender who may be living nearby may contact the police department, and should not make contact with the individual. He acknowledged “there’s always a possibility” people might misuse the Web site, but it is a valuable tool for most.
“I think the majority of the community out there would rather have the knowledge of what’s around them, versus using it for evil-doing,” Beebe said.
Visitors can search the site by county, ZIP code, city, or using a person’s name or a specific address. Sex offenders’ locations are indicated by blue dots on a map, which can zoom out to include most of Gilroy and Morgan Hill, or zoom in to cover just a few blocks.
Parks and schools can also be used as the focus of a search. For example, by entering “Glen View Elementary School,” and searching within one-tenth of a mile, two blue dots appear. When that search is expanded to a half-mile, six blue dots appear.
By viewing all of Gilroy’s 84 offenders on a list, visitors can scroll through pictures, of all but four. Home addresses are available for 56 of the offenders – those convicted of two or more sex offenses in separate trials, and those designated by a court as sexually violent predators. The Department of Justice defines sexually violent predators as those people convicted of a sexually violent offense against two or more victims, who have been determined by a court as likely to further engage in sexually violent behavior because of a diagnosed mental disorder.
A small percentage of the offenders in Gilroy have a red checkmark next to their pictures, indicating their information may be outdated. Beebe said the offender may have moved without re-registering, been incarcerated, or moved and registered out of state.
“If we have somebody that appears to be in violation, we’ll start a case, to find out what happened to them,” Beebe said.
Some sex offenders are listed in South County, but outside city limits, although they are included in the 84 attributed to Gilroy. This city has a slighter higher rate of sex offenders per capita than neighboring cities: Morgan Hill has information on 48 sex offenders, with exact addresses for 37 of them. Hollister has 54 sex offenders, with exact addresses for 36. San Jose has more than 1,500 sex offenders.
Californians have inundated the Megan’s Law Web site since its Wednesday launch, at times overloading the site. During high traffic, a disclaimer asks visitors to try again later.
The site also provides tips on how to protect friends and family, and fact about sex offenses and sex offenders. Beebe recommends that Web site visitors read the tips for parents, teenagers, and community members.
For more information, visit http://MegansLaw.ca.gov.
