Convicted Molester Detained, Released

PLACENTIA —  Sid Landau, a convicted child molester and the first target in Southern California of the state’s “Megan’s Law,” says he only wants to be left alone.

That wish eluded him again Wednesday.

Landau, who has been the subject of intense attention, was taken into custody after parole officers read a newspaper account claiming he possessed something that looked like a razor knife.

Landau is prohibited by the conditions of his parole from possessing such an instrument. He was released later in the day after a search of his home revealed nothing.

“His house was searched, he was searched, and they didn’t find anything like a straight razor,” said Lynda Ward, deputy regional administrator for the state parole office.

Had authorities decided that Landau violated the terms of his parole, he could have been sent back to prison for years.

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The flurry of activity surrounding Landau, 57, is only the latest. With two previous convictions for molesting boys, Landau became the first man in Southern California targeted by Megan’s Law.

That statute, passed last year, allows police to notify residents when a convicted sex offender moves into their neighborhood.

When Landau moved to Placentia in December, city police passed out fliers bearing his name, picture and address. Neighbors have picketed his home and call 911 whenever he steps outside. Last week, following publicity about his arrival in Placentia, he was fired from his job as a store clerk.

As a convicted child molester who was paroled before completing his entire prison sentence, Landau must adhere to rigid parole guidelines. One of them is that he cannot own a weapon, including a razor knife.

There are others: He is not allowed to own toys or stuffed animals--so he doesn’t entice children into his house. And Landau may not own a VCR, lest he use it to watch pornography.

Probation officers decided to act after they read a column by Robin Abcarian in Wednesday’s Los Angeles Times. Abcarian wrote that when she approached Landau’s home, he was trimming his finger nails “with what appeared to be a small straight-edged razor.”

Corrine Loomis, an investigator for the Placentia Police Department, said that people who read the article also called authorities to complain.

Loomis said that Landau called her after the article appeared.

“He was scared,” she said of Landau. “He asked me: ‘Why would I stand outside in front of my house with a weapon?’ ”

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Abcarian reaffirmed Wednesday that she saw Landau holding what appeared to be a small straight-edge razor.

“To be perfectly honest, as I looked at this tool, I thought that this is a very strange thing for him to be cutting his cuticles with,” she said.

Landau’s lawyer, Todd Phillips, said that his client would like as little attention as possible.

“He wants to get on his with life,” Phillips said.

Ward, the parole director, said Landau is unlikely to get much peace.

“It is very unlikely that he can live a normal life, living where he is, knowing what he has done,” she said.