What to do when an offender lives in your area

[JLG]

I decided to do a search to see if any registered sex offenders live in my area and I found one that lives in my apartment complex. He has convictions for lewd acts with children under 14 years of age.
I live in California and did some quick research to find out that when you live in an apartment the landlord does not have to tell the tenants because that would be discriminating against this man.
I am very concerned cause I am a single mother with a young daughter. We also live behind a day care center. My research also found that he can't live within half a mile of any school or daycare center. I sent an email to I hope the proper people letting them know that he is living right next to a day care center.
I also want to tell the other residents, especially with kids, about this man but first I need to see what I can legally do or say.
I have often seen this man just standing and looking out of his patio. His apartment is right in front of our play area for the kids.
Any ideas or does anybody know what I can do while I am waiting for replys from the agencies I emailed.

[Dytchdoctir]

Yikes!

Contact your local law enforcement agency on their non-emergency line. Don't mention the guys name, but ask them what you should do. Usually they will want to know if an offender on the list is violating their terms of probation, as it seems this guy is doing by living so near a day care center.

Good luck!

[Treasure]

1 - don't overreact
2 - try meeting him, it may be something that happened years ago, and he's just now out, and this may be one of the only places that would accept him with the conviction; maybe let him know that you are aware of his being registered, and that it makes you uncomfortable - but don't be rude about it....
3 - use your good sense, and not your "paranoid parent" sense - you don't want to rouse an angry mob w/ torches and pitchforks ready to tar and feather the "witch" when he may not have done anything wrong; you never know his P.O. may already be aware of where he is living what else is in proximity to it (the daycare) but as i said in my #2 point, that complex may be one of the only ones that he could get into with the conviction

I think what i'm ultimately doing is saying give him the benefit of the doubt, and be cautiously aware - you can bring it up w/the complex management, and if you have Friends that are also neighbors, tell them in casual conversation, not in gossip, or paranoid "OMG i have to tell you this!" - if they mention that its odd that he stands on his porch and watches the kids when they're out, then you can say "well that's b/c he can't get near them, i think he's waiting for them to go in so he can leave" then when they ask how you know that you can mention that you did a search for RSO's near you and found out that he is one; make is casual - like as long as he minds his P's and Q's you won't care.....

[Cookie]

That's insanely scary. I'd call the non-emergency police number like Dytchdoctir suggested and find out what you can. Definitely not the time to bring out the pitchforks like Treasure was saying, but if something is wrong, calling the police will allow it to be handled as quietly, efficiently, and legally as possible.

[protege]

We have a guy like that in my neighborhood. Most of his daily routine is walking around the 'circle' (my street turns back on itself) and will stare at the houses He hasn't done anything that I know of, but he's managed to come off as creepy. Even my neighbor's 12-year-old daughter, and the 9 and 10 year-old children behind me...will hide when they see him. For now, we're all keeping our distance. None of us have been rude to the guy, but we've been observing what he's up to.

[Peppergirl]

Hey all..

While we typically consider topics like this to be too controversial for the site, we have discussed this one and decided to leave it up, because we feel that it's an important topic and that JLG might get some helpful advice from the community.

That said, lets PLEASE not veer off into fratching. Examples of this would be starting a rant about what is and isnt legal with regard to sex crimes, or advocating violence against anyone, etc.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact a mod.

Thanks!

[Sliceanddice]

really your only course action would be
call police department non-emergency to find out details of the laws and your rights

you can then generally inform other parents and the daycare about the offender in the area though you may want to talk to him before you talk to the daycare. It could be he was considered to not be a risk, or is on strict surveillance or something. If you still get a creepy vibe from him even after all that you can usually find a way to report to their parole officers to report any strange activities.

[draggar]

1 - don't overreact
2 - try meeting him, it may be something that happened years ago, and he's just now out, and this may be one of the only places that would accept him with the conviction; maybe let him know that you are aware of his being registered, and that it makes you uncomfortable - but don't be rude about it....
3 - use your good sense, and not your "paranoid parent" sense - you don't want to rouse an angry mob w/ torches and pitchforks ready to tar and feather the "witch" when he may not have done anything wrong; you never know his P.O. may already be aware of where he is living what else is in proximity to it (the daycare) but as i said in my #2 point, that complex may be one of the only ones that he could get into with the conviction

Great advice but I wouldn't go out of my way to get to know him. A lot can happen in their past and can be completely innocent.

My mother in law is friends with this lady and her fiance (possibly husband now) is a registered sex offender.

When he was 18 he had a relationship with a 16 year old girl, 100% consensual and even her parents approved of their relationship. He also had a (now former) friend who was also 18 and also had a relationship with a younger girl. Well, things didn't go well with the friend's relationship and he was accused and put to trial (for the relative local laws). As part of a plea bargain he ratted out his friend. No one denied the relationship he had and then the state pressed charges against him. He couldn't afford an attorney and the public defender told him to plead guilty to avoid jail time. He's now a registered sex offender.

Be on guard but not paranoid.

As for the "half mile" rule - look at how the law is written, is it by streets or a half mile circle? A daycare can be in your back yard but if the half mile is by streets, he could be over that.

[JLG]

Hey all..

While we typically consider topics like this to be too controversial for the site, we have discussed this one and decided to leave it up, because we feel that it's an important topic and that JLG might get some helpful advice from the community.

That said, lets PLEASE not veer off into fratching. Examples of this would be starting a rant about what is and isnt legal with regard to sex crimes, or advocating violence against anyone, etc.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact a mod.

Thanks!

Thanks. I questioned if I should put it here or in fratching. I just really wanted advice on what to do or if anyone has had this situation.

For now I have sent an email about the daycare center and I also think that the people in this complex do have a right to know. But I will only do what the law says I can and I am waiting to see how I can go about this. It also said in his "profile" that he is a "mentally diagnosed sex offender" so I need to do more research and contact more people so I go about this the right way.

[Chromatix]

I would say that if he is spending so much time staring at the playground, *and* he has managed to get such a "conveniently" positioned apartment, that it is definitely suspicious.

He probably hasn't done anything yet, but it's pretty clear that he's violating the spirit (even if not the letter) of his licence. That in itself is sufficient reason to inform the police. Now, the police might still come back and say there is nothing they can do, but it is still better if they are alert to the situation.

I have no idea why they didn't check the address against the licence requirements, since they already have his address. But perhaps that would make too much sense...

[TheSHAD0W]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_off...cidivism_rates

IMO it's something to watch, but not overly worry about.

[Chromatix]

Be careful when interpreting those statistics - remember that the list of sex offenders includes a lot of people who simply had a girlfriend who was slightly under the age of 18. It stands to reason that such people would not be inherently predisposed to a life of crime, sexual or otherwise.

[Der Cute]

In my old apt building in AK, I found..about..15 RSO's within 5 blocks radius of me.

With the website, I could actually look up the level of offense and/or dates. I only recognized one person's face, and he was a regular at the store I worked at. Even after the website, I got no bad vibes from him.

On your situation:
You know RSO is living X. You know that School is within Q miles. You are questioning if that is kosher.
Call the non emergency line; report RSO (and the name/address please!) is living in complex, with school nearby. Cops can use google maps etc and chat with the RSO's PO. (if there is one).

Leave that alone.

Be on alert but not paranoid as PP said. Take into consideration the data on the RSO (date of offense, level of conviction, number of convictions etc). Also teach kid about general don't go in houses, dont eat candy etc. And shoot, if you run into him in the 7-11 down the street, dont freak out. Treat them like another person, and just let the cops do the work.

If, after let's say, 3 months you dont see a change, why not go inperson to the cops? Ask if there is a reason..and you might find out something.

[Sandman]

Ditto what Der Cute is saying. Find out when he moved into the area, then when the child care facility came into the area. If he was there first, there MIGHT be nothing legally that can be done, other than the police just letting him know. HE might not even know that there is a child care facility nearby (and he doesn't want to start any problems).

[MoonCat]

He has convictions for lewd acts with children under 14 years of age.

I think this part bears repeating.

I'm all for giving a person the benefit of the doubt, but this....seems pretty clear cut to me. And Treasure, I get what you're saying, but saying something like "he's waiting for the kids to go inside so he can leave" - just seems like making an assumption based on no data. If I had a kid living in that building, or attending the day care center, I would want to know about this guy being there.