Stranger in the next seat

By Therese Quesada, On-line Forty-Niner

April 13,1998

You could be sitting next to a sex offender ­ but is there a way to find out?

 

At 6'2", with brown hair, dreamy eyes and 189 pounds of chiseled manliness, the guy at the next desk in your geography class looks like a great study partner. He might even be good for coffee and a movie.

 

Too bad. He just might be more interested in your little sister - the one who's in third grade.

 

The attorney general's office estimates there are about 64,000 serious and high-risk sex offenders in California. Most of the convictions defining the high level of risk are for crimes against children.

 

Databases for area codes within a 30-mile radius of Cal State Long Beach indicate there are more than 60 high-risk offenders, with the greatest number, 11, living in Whittier.

 

How do you know if Mr. Looks-so-right might be one of them?

 

Under Penal Code 290.4, this state's version of "Megan's Law," an offender must register with the local police or sheriff's department each year within five days of his birthday. That information - a photograph, descriptive information, and a criminal history on CD-ROM - must be available to the public at local law enforcement agencies serving communities of more than 200,000.

 

New Jersey passed the first such notification law in 1995 after 7-year-old Megan Kanka was raped and murdered by a convicted child molester who had moved into her neighborhood.

 

Registrants typically have been convicted of crimes ranging from rape, sodomy with a minor or by force and lewd and lascivious conduct with a child or dependent adult to kidnapping with the intent to commit specified sex offenses.

 

There is nothing new about registration. California was the first state to implement a sex-offender registration program in 1947. Public access to a database is new, and gives concerned residents an opportunity to assess the risk in their neighborhoods.

 

However, the faces in the database are deceptively ordinary. And by the time offenders reach college, the die is cast.

 

"There is nothing significant about offenders in the 18 - 24 year age range. The pattern is usually established by adolescence, sometimes a little later," said Dr. James Linden, a practicing therapist and professor. Linden teaches abnormal psychology at Cal State Long Beach.

 

"People molest at any time in life, from my experience," Linden said. "There are no demographics.

 

The behavior crosses all lines - education, class lines.

 

"Unfortunately, when someone does victimize a child, there is likely to be a pattern, unlike with other crimes. There is a psycho-pathological component. It is important to identify (the offenders) and do something," Linden said.

 

Often the offender repeats behavior learned early in life.

 

"Typically, the perpetrator has been a victim of either physical abuse or sexual abuse. He has learned that the boundaries between adults and children are not sacred," Linden explained, cautioning that many offenders do not have a personal history suggesting a potential for deviant behavior.

 

"Some theories suggest that there might be a genetic anomaly, but nothing you could trace," Linden said, adding that these theories are controversial. Neurotransmitters, hormones and brain chemistry may play a role in determining whether or not an individual is prone to these behaviors.

 

Cal State Long Beach has averaged two reported sex crimes per year since 1995, including forcible rape and fondling, according to the university's "Student Right to Know Report."

 

Like municipal police departments, University Police has access to the state database but does not release that information, and cannot say with certainty whether or not there are any registrants on a commuter campus of 27,000 students, staff and faculty.

 

Lieutenant Judith King said the department is vigilant and works closely with the Long Beach Police Department and city prosecutor's office.

 

"We are currently involved in an in-depth investigation. It is very complex," King said . "There are details I do not want to release that might jeopardize the case."

 

King stresses that, so far, the complaints filed with her department report behavior that is not necessarily defined by the law as criminal, nor has anyone involved been identified as a registrant.

 

"We know enough to be alert to a potential problem," King said.

 

The only local access students might have to the state database is at the LBPD.

 

Sgt. Diana Walton heads up the sex crimes unit that manages the registrant database for Long Beach.

 

"You need a reason that can be articulated to look at the CD-ROM, but we do not turn anyone away," Walton said. "We ask for 24 hours notice, and it is by appointment only. You cannot look at it if you have a criminal history or if you are a sex registrant."

 

Prior to 1995, offenders were required to register only when they moved.

 

"We would see them one time, and then never again" Walton said. "Our guys are doing interviews now. We are getting intelligence."

 

"We have not made any notifications. We are trying to avoid the problems with residents harassing registrants like they had in Placentia. We organize a community meeting, make a presentation and advise about the registrant in general. We provide residents with a non-reproducable flier and a picture. We try to educate," Walton explained.

 

Walton cautioned that the information in the database may not be accurate. Some offenders may be in prison or may have died.

 

"The Department of Justice has a problem with deleting names. Once a registrant, always a registrant," Walton said.

 

The registration form is straightforward; it asks for vehicle identification, a physical description of the registrant, home and work addresses, and various case identification numbers.

 

Registrants are protected by the new law: The information may not be used to determine health insurance, credit, education, scholarships or fellowships.

 

Registrants who have been convicted of spousal rape, possession of obscene or harmful matter, indecent exposure or incest are not subject to the new law.

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