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Paroled Sex Offenders Told to Move by State |
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Monday, 10 September 2007 |
 More
than 2,700 recently paroled sex offenders in California have been told they have to move
because they are violating a new law that bars them from living near schools
and parks. On Friday, the California Department of Corrections
and Rehabilitation finished notifying 2,741 sex offenders that they have 45
days to find legal housing, or they will be sent back to prison for violating
their parole, said spokesman Bill Sessa.
Jessica's Law, named after a 9-year-old child
kidnapped and killed by a molester in Florida,
prohibits offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school or park. Inmate
advocates, some lawmakers and the corrections department itself warn that
requiring offenders to move could force some to go underground, move to rural
areas, become homeless, or ignore warnings and return to overcrowded state
prisons. Parole officers beat by four days a department-imposed deadline to
complete their official notifications of each sex offender before Sept. 11,
Sessa said. Parole officers and state lawmakers had criticized the department
for waiting nearly 10 months to notify offenders they were violating the law.
With 45 days to move, some offenders won't have to comply until mid-October,
nearly a year after the law was enacted.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 24 September 2007 )
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