CA- Legal battle foreseen over sex offender ordinance

5-13-2008 California:

POMONA - A new city ordinance that makes it difficult for registered sex offenders to find a place to live in the city is likely to be challenged in court, lawyers said late last week.

The ordinance prohibits registered sex offenders from living within a half-mile of such places as child-care centers, youth and community centers, museums, sports complexes, and rail stations or bus stops.

The ordinance also includes regulations that make it illegal for a sex offender to loiter within 300 feet of such places, with some exceptions.

"If I was a child molester, I would go for a restraining order," said Michael Rushford, president of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, a Sacramento- based group that advocates for the legal rights of victims.

But despite the criticism, the City Attorney's Office thinks the ordinance is defendable. At last week's City Council meeting, Assistant City Attorney Andrew Jared told council members that the city's ordinance can be defended under state law because individual restrictions within it have already been addressed by the courts.

Pomona's ordinance makes use of language in Proposition 83, also referred to as Jessica's Law, allowing cities to adopt residency restrictions for sex offenders beyond those set by the state, according to a city staff report.

Rushford said Jessica's Law has problems and that states, including California, are seeing it challenged. Among its problems is the residential requirement, which is difficult to enforce.

For cities to go well beyond what's set in state law "is a mistake," Rushford said.

Phil Schnayerson, co-chairman of the legislative committee of the nonprofit California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, said Jessica's Law has flaws.

"The regular law as drafted is extremely Draconian. The ordinances that go beyond that are more foolish still," he said.

The state law's strength is that it calls for use of GPS systems, which aid law enforcement in monitoring the offenders, Rushford said.

Some Pomona police officers have concerns involving the ordinance's enforcement and the monitoring of offenders, said Capt. Ken Gillespie.

It's highly possible offenders will become transients, making it difficult for authorities to track them, Gillespie said.

"Right now, we have a good handle on where they are," he said. If offenders become transients, he said, police might hear from them only when they check in every 30 days.

No one wants to have a registered sex offender nearby, but "the fact of the matter is they have to live some place," Gillespie said. "Do you want the police to know where they are ... or do you want them just under the radar?"

Police expect to meet this week with representatives of the city attorney and district attorney to get answers to a variety of questions, he said.

Last week, council members asked the City Attorney's Office to provide details on how other cities with similar ordinances have enforced the regulations.

Schnayerson said one of the problems with legislation such as Pomona's is that it also penalizes those who committed low-level sexual offenses such as an 18-year-old man who had consensual intercourse with an underage girl or a person found to have pornography on a computer.

One-time, nonviolent offenders find it difficult to lead normal lives because regulations treat them as if they were violent, repeat offenders, Schnayerson said.

Decisions to create regulations such as these are made because policymakers perceive there is political value to them, he said.

"There are very few people who are willing and who have the courage to say, `This is a little too broad,"' Schnayerson said.

Pomona's ordinance was fashioned after one adopted this year in Long Beach, but enforcement there has been suspended, said Cristyl Meyers, Long Beach deputy city attorney.

According to the Long Beach Press-Telegram, lawyers representing sex offenders have concerns with the regulations because the ordinance affects offenders living in the city before the adoption of the law as well as those who try to move in after.

Pomona's regulation only affects offenders trying to move into the city after the ordinance's adoption.

Offenders already in the city would only be affected if they move within the city. ..more.. by Monica Rodriguez, Staff Writer