Sex offender database goes live on Web

Marisa O’Neil

The names -- and in some cases, pictures and addresses -- of sex

offenders in your neighborhood are only a mouse click away on a new

website.

A new law required the state to create a Megan’s Law website

listing certain information about sex offenders. That site, operated

by the state Department of Justice, went online last week, allowing

computer users to tap information about the 90 sex offenders in Costa

Mesa and 16 in Newport Beach.

Before the site was created, Costa Mesa residents had to make an

appointment to use a special computer terminal at the police

department to access basic information about offenders. The Newport

Beach Police Department also has some information on its website. But

until the new law was signed, only the general area where offenders

lived was available to the public.

Now, after going to the website -- https://www.meganslaw.ca.gov. --

and clicking a box to acknowledge a disclaimer, anyone can access the

information, which includes photographs and exact addresses of some

offenders.

“It’s good information to have, as long as people don’t

overreact,” said Costa Mesa Police Sgt. Marty Carver. “You can’t go

and arbitrarily harass these people because they’re sex registrants.”

Megan’s Law, named for a New Jersey girl raped and killed by a

paroled child molester, allows law enforcement agencies to make some

information on convicted sex offenders public. The new legislation

makes more personal data available more easily.

Since the new site came online Friday, nobody has called to make

appointments to see their Megan’s Law database, Costa Mesa Police

investigator Holly Carver said. Residents are instead calling with

questions about rights and seeking reassurance that they’re safe, she

said.

She refers them back to the Megan’s Law website, which outlines

the program and tells people they can’t use the information to commit

any crimes.

“I think that awareness is a good thing,” she said. “But if people

start witch hunting, that might make people less likely to register.”

Sex offenders must register annually on their birthdays and any

time they move. But if they don’t register, the information on the

Megan’s Law website might not be accurate, Holly Carver said.

Knowing where offenders live can help remind people to be vigilant

about their safety and the safety of their children, Newport Beach

Sgt. Steve Shulman said.

Released offenders are deemed to have paid their dues to society

and are entitled to many of the same civil rights that protect

everyone from harassment, he said.

“We enforce the law,” Shulman said. “[Sex offenders] still have

constitutional rights. But this is one they don’t have -- to have

their address kept private.”

* MARISA O’NEIL covers

public safety and courts. She may be reached at (714) 966-4618 or

by e-mail at [email protected].