Los Angeles Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

In California, Megan's Law "requires convicted sex offenders to register with their local law enforcement agency," explains Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Stephen Rodriguez. Megan's Law also "makes it possible for people to get information about the identity and address of registered sex offenders," the experienced lawyer noted. As an aid to concerned parents and California citizens, Rodriguez provides a link to both California's and national registered sex offender databases on his website.

Megan's Laws have been initiated in all 50 states. Created in response to the brutal rape and murder of 7-year-old Megan Kanka by a neighbor who was a convicted child molester, many feel Megan's Law has been instrumental in protecting children from sexual predators and in finding those who commit sexual offenses against children. So why didn't Megan's Law help Jaycee Lee Dugard sooner?

Kidnapped at the age of 11, Jaycee was raped and kept confined in a rustic backyard compound for 18 years by Phillip Garrido (see our Sep. 23 post). Garrido, who served 10 years in prison for a 1970s kidnapping and rape, was registered on California's sex offender registry. Even while keeping Jaycee captive, Garrido checked in with local authorities as required by California law and reported to a parole officer for the 1970's rape.

While citizens believe that registration means sex offenders are well monitored by police, the reality is that law enforcement resources are seriously overwhelmed. In Contra Costa County where Garrido resided there are 1,700 registered sex offenders and more than 65,000 registered throughout California. Registered sex offenders include both people arrested for the most heinous sexual crimes against children and those arrested for minor crimes like exposure, making it difficult to distinguish the degree of risk posed by an individual.

Many question whether Megan's Law actually deters sexual predation against children. As recently pointed out by an intriguing New York Times article on the limitations of sex offender registries, it may simply be forcing predators like Garrido to relocate in rural areas where their activities are less visible.

For more information on Megan's Law, links to sex offender registries and tips for protecting your children, visit L.A. attorney Stephen Rodriguez' Megan's Law website.

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The discovery of Jaycee Lee Dugard living in makeshift tents behind a home in Antioch, California 18 years after her abduction shocked the country. Snatched from a school bus stop near her South Lake Tahoe, CA home in 1991 when she was 11, Dugard had been held in isolation by a convicted sex offender who fathered two children with her, one when she was only 14. Phillip Garrido and his wife, Nancy, were arrested. Garrido, charged with kidnapping, raping and imprisoning Dugard, is now suspected in the kidnapping and disappearance of two California 13-year-olds in the late 1980s.

With a twisted history of sexual abuse and drug use, Garrido became fanatical about religion in the 1970s. Imprisoned in 1977 for kidnapping and repeatedly raping a Reno, Nevada woman, he told a police psychiatrist, "I have been brought to God." It was his religious fervor that eventually led to Dugard's discovery and rescue and Garrido's arrest. His odd behavior while seeking a permit to hold a religious rally at UC-Berkley made officials suspicious, triggering events that led to his arrest.

Child molesters often turn to religion to rationalize their actions, Ken Lanning, a former FBI profiler specializing in kidnapping and child abuse cases, told the Associated Press. "A lot of them, when they're molesting children, put a lot of time and energy into trying to convince themselves that they're not bad people," Lanning said. "In some cases, the element of religion will come into it, and they will use varying aspect of their religious belief to justify all of this."

In conversations with neighbors and business clients and in police interviews before his arrest, Garrido repeatedly talked about finding God. The Reno woman he raped in 1977 said he preached about God and Jesus while he was raping her.

On Friday: Why Megan's Law didn't help Jaycee Dugard sooner.

A new federally-funded study on sex offenses concludes that Megan's Law hasn't deterred repeat sexual offenders and that costs associated with implementing the law may not be justified. Conducted in New Jersey, the state that initiated the now nationwide Megan's Law campaign, the study found that while Megan's Law has made it easier to find sex offenders, it hasn't changed the types of sex crimes committed or decreased the number of victims.

Named for Megan Kanka, a 7-year-old New Jersey girl raped and murdered in 1994 by a neighbor who had twice been convicted of sexual offenses, Megan's Laws have been enacted in all 50 states. California's Megan's Law "requires convicted sex offenders to register with their local law enforcement agency, and makes it possible for people to get information about the identity and address of registered sex offenders," explains expert Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Stephen Rodriguez. As an aid to Los Angeles and California residents, Rodriguez has created a Megan's Law website with links to California's registered sex offender database, links to Megan's Law data bases in other states, useful information about how sexual offenses are prosecuted in California, and valuable tips on protecting your children from sexual predators.

Conducted by the New Jersey Department of Corrections with Rutgers University, the new study used statistical data to evaluate the effect of Megan's law on state crime rates. The study found that while New Jersey spent approximately half a million dollars implementing Megan's Law in 1995, annual costs had climbed to $4 million by 2007. Given the high costs of implementation and negligible effect as a deterrent, some budget-strapped states are taking a closer look at the value of Megan's Law.

However, Megan's mother, Maureen Kanka, told Associated Press reporter Beth DeFalco that Megan's Law was never intended to change sexual predator behavior. "It was to provide an awareness to the public, which it has done." Kanka contends that making parents aware of sexual predators in their midst enables them to better protect their children. Study author, Kristen Zgoba, a research supervisor for the New Jersey Corrections Department, disagreed, telling DeFalco that awareness does not increase safety. "There's no other way to increase safety other than to decrease the likelihood of these crimes taking place."

The study concluded that while registration and notification programs can be helpful, rehabilitation programs for offenders or programs that remove them from the population are more productive. New Jersey's aggressive civil commitment of repeat sex offenders may be more responsible than Megan's Law for the state's sex crimes reduction over the last decade.

Megan's Law was created in the face of tragedy after 7-year-old Megan Kanka of New Jersey was brutally raped and killed by a neighbor who was a known child molester. Megan's parents had no knowledge of the man's background and no reason to be on the alert or warn their daughter -- until it was too late. Devastated by what had happened to their child, the Kanka's lobbied tirelessly to give other parents the tools to protect their children from sexual predators.

Megan's Law requires convicted sex offenders to register with law enforcement agencies. It also makes it possible for the public to obtain information about the identities and addresses of registered sex offenders. But parents must be ever vigilante. More than 90% of children are molested by someone they know.

Today, we offer additional tips for keeping your children safe.

• Never leave children unattended in an automobile, not even to run in and out of a store.


• Teach your children never to talk to anyone in a car or accept a ride from anyone they don't know and trust.


• Teach your children never to go anywhere with anyone without getting your permission first.


• Be an active participant in your children's activities.


• Listen to your children. Pay attention if your child doesn't want to be with someone or go somewhere.


• Notice people who pay too much attention to your child.


• Teach your children that they always have the right to say no to unwelcome, uncomfortable or confusing touching or actions by others, including adults. Teach them to tell you immediately if this happens and take their fears seriously.


• Be sensitive to changes in your child's behavior or attitude.


• When your children confide in you, remain calm and try not to criticize or judge. Help your children solve the problem.


• Carefully screen babysitters and caregivers.


• Don't allow your children to wear clothing or carry items displaying their name. Predators can use your child's name to create a false impression of familiarity and engage your child in conversation.

You can find more information about Megan's Law and links to state and national sexual predator locators on the California Attorney General's Megan's Law website. As an aide to parents and the public, Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Stephen Rodriguez has also created a special Megan's Law website containing valuable information about Megan's Law and useful links to additional registered sex offender resources.

To protect our children from the violence of sexual predators, every state in the U. S. now has a Megan's Law in place, including California. California's Megan's Law requires convicted sex offenders to register with their local law enforcement agency. The law also makes it possible for the public to obtain the identity and addresses of registered sex offenders. Most states track the locations of registered sex offenders on easily accessible Internet websites. California's sex offender registry is managed by the office of the state's Attorney General.

Proactive in its efforts to halt sexual predators from preying on children, California has required sex offenders to register with local law enforcement offices for 50 years, but it was not until the enaction of Megan's Law that the information was readily available to the public. Unfortunately, Megan's Law tracks only convicted sexual offenders. Parents must educate their children and maintain family vigilance to ensure their children's safety.

The California Attorney General's Megan's Law website recommends parents take the following actions to protect their children from sexual predation:

• Inform your children that it is wrong for adults to engage children in sexual activity.


• Stress to your child that he should tell you if anything happens that makes him feel uncomfortable, especially if an adult is involved.


• Get to know the people your child spends time with, particularly the parents of their friends.


• Teach your children about their bodies and the correct words to use when describing private parts. Emphasize that those parts are private.


• Know where your children are at all times. Be clear about places and homes your children are allowed to visit. Make sure your children tell you where they are going when they leave home and check in when they arrive or depart their destination and when plans change. If your child is abducted, the sooner the police are alerted, the better the chance of a positive outcome.


• Set an example for your child by always telling him when your plans change or when you are running late. Emphasize that such family rules are for everyone's safety.

For more information on Megan's Law and useful links to California, state and federal sex offender registration sites, please visit the website of Los Angeles Criminal Defense Lawyer Stephen Rodriguez.

Megan Kanka was a typical 7-year-old, full of fun and life and excitement for the surprises that came with each new day. On July 29, 1994, she spent the morning riding her bike in the summer sunshine. She was excited when her neighbor offered to show her his new puppy. A day later, New Jersey police found Megan's battered body in a nearby park. She had been raped, beaten and strangled with a belt.

Three years later, in 1997, Megan's 36-year-old neighbor Jesse Timmendequas, a previously convicted sex offender, was sentenced to death in a New Jersey courtroom. Outside the courtroom, Megan's grief-stricken parents, Richard and Maureen Kanka met the press. "He will never, ever, ever get out to harm another little girl," Megan's mother said.

From that horrible tragedy was born Megan's Law which, in California, requires convicted sex offenders to register with their local law enforcement agency. The law makes it possible for citizens to obtain information about the identities and addresses of registered sex offenders through an internet database. The California Megan's Law site is administered by the Office of the Attorney General. It allows people to locate registered sex offenders by name, address, city, zip code and county. It also locates registered sex offenders who live near parks and schools.

In California, you must register as a sex offender if you are convicted of sexual battery, rape including sodomy without consent, kidnapping or assaulting a person to commit rape or certain other sexual offenses, prostitution involving a minor, sexual acts with a child under the age of 14 including sodomy, incest, possession of child pornography and indecent exposure. Offenders must register "within 5 days of being released from prison and then any time they change their address or name, explains criminal defense attorney Stephen Rodriguez. Registrations must be updated at lease annually, more often for those considered violent predators. In California, Megan's Law also requires juveniles convicted of similar crimes to register as sex offenders. However, as Rodriguez points out, juvenile "registration information cannot be disclosed to the public unless the juvenile is a threat to the community."

For complete information about California's Megan's Law, access to the Attorney General's registered sexual offender databases, links for locating sexual predators in other states, and information on how to protect your children from sexual predators, visit criminal defense attorney Stephen Rodriguez's Megan's Law website.

In 2007, New Jersey abolished the death penalty after a state commission ruled it "inconsistent with evolving standards of decency." Jesse Timmendequas, now 47, was one of eight men waiting on death row whose sentences were commuted by Governor Jon Corzine to life in prison without parole.

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