CA- Homeless Sex Offenders on the Rise

8-22-2009 California:

ACRAMENTO - A law that was enacted to protect children from sex offenders, may be putting kids more at risk.

Jessica's Law came about following the rape and murder of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford of Florida, by a sex offender.

The law increased sentences for sexual predators and bars them from living within a half mile of schools and parks.

But restrictions on where offenders can live, is forcing more of them on the streets.

"We were fearful that the numbers would go up when Jessica's Law came into effect because the residency restrictions made whole parts of California impossible for offenders to live," said Suzanne Brown-McBride, of California Coalition Against Sexual Assault.

In July of 2000, the total number of sex offenders registered as transient in California, was around 2,000.

The number registered as transient this month... nearly 4,500 - almost a 10 percent increase since last month, and a 119 percent increase since July 2007. ..Source.. by Rowena Lugtu-Shaddox