Information on Registered Sex Offenders
A new California law, Assembly Bill 488 (Nicole Parra), sponsored by
the Attorney General now provides the public with Internet access to
detailed information on registered sex offenders.
This expanded access allows the public for the first time to use
their personal computers to view information on sex offenders required
to register with local law enforcement under California's Megan's Law.
Previously, the information was available only by personally visiting
police stations and sheriff offices or by calling a 900 toll-number.
The new law was given final passage by the Legislature on August 24,
2004 and signed by the Governor on September 24, 2004.
For more than 50 years, California has required sex offenders to
register with their local law enforcement agencies. However,
information on the whereabouts of these sex offenders was not available
to the public until the implementation of the Child Molester
Identification Line in July 1995. The information available was further
expanded by California's Megan's Law in 1996 (Chapter 908, Stats. of
1996).
California's Megan's Law provides the public with certain
information on the whereabouts of sex offenders so that members of our
local communities may protect themselves and their children. Megan's
Law is named after seven-year-old Megan Kanka, a New Jersey girl who
was raped and killed by a known child molester who had moved across the
street from the family without their knowledge. In the wake of the
tragedy, the Kankas sought to have local communities warned about sex
offenders in the area. All states now have a form of Megan's Law.
The law is not intended to punish the offender and specifically
prohibits using the information to harass or commit any crime against
an offender.
Learn more about California's Megan's Law