ANAHEIM – Echoes of children exclaiming ‘trick-or-treat’ filled the newly-darkened neighborhood of South Primrose Street as state corrections agents approached the residence of a paroled sex offender charged with crimes against children.
The single-story house was quiet, unlit and void of decorations, as outlined in the agreed-upon Halloween guidelines. Parole Agent George Meza banged on the screen door. “State parole!” No answer. The knocking got louder and his voice firmer, but still no one answered the door. A child dressed as an angel passed by with her friend dressed as Minnie Mouse, candy buckets in hand, going to surrounding houses for their holiday loot.
Finally, the blinds rustled and the convicted sex offender answered the door. Both Meza and his partner Parole Agent Jennifer Latumeten entered the house and questioned the man. After the agents finished their compliance check, they explained that the man was hiding, believing trick-or-treaters were at his door instead of the agents.
“He technically was doing what he’s supposed to be doing,” Latumeten said.
All paroled offenders were mailed guidelines at the beginning of October regarding required Halloween night procedures that they signed and read back verbally to their parole agents. One of the rules is to only answer the door for law enforcement.
“He did the right thing,” Latumeten said. “I told him to next time listen and look.”
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation hosted its 20th annual Operation Boo across the state Thursday night. The organized system for compliance checks is hosted on Halloween because of the plethora of children walking the streets. This year parole agents checked on 64 paroled sex offenders in Orange County who committed crimes against children. Parole agents, with the help of police officers from Laguna Beach and Tustin, were dispatched to cities county-wide to verify regulations were being followed.
“We’re here to keep the public safe by ensuring compliance,” said District Supervisor Maryanne Larios during the briefing.
Larios looked over the transient check-in point near 17th Street and Main Street in Santa Ana. Paroled homeless sex offenders were required to go to the check-in point between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. and were provided with dinner and a movie. Latumeten said trick-or-treating peaks during these times and keeping the expected 74 homeless sex offenders off the streets during that time improves safety.
In Anaheim, parole agents checked on 10 residences, mostly apartments. Standing in the lobby of a high-end apartment complex on State College Boulevard, Latumeten and Meza waited in full tactical gear for the metal doors to open. They rode up to a fourth floor apartment as elevator music played.
Janice Bellucci, the president of California Reform Sex Offender Laws, believes the compliance checks are a violation of parolee’s first amendment rights and are unnecessary, since no child has been molested while trick-or-treating.
“This is a solution without a problem,” Bellucci said. “It’s giving parents a false sense of security. It’s just pure nonsense.”
But the state disagrees. In 2011, 798 parolees were visited by agents and 24 arrests were made. Agents also found weapons, drugs and child pornography during the compliance checks. Numbers for 2012 were not immediately available. But for Latumeten and Meza, the outlook of their evening looked promising as the parolees consistently obeyed the rules on All Hallow’s Eve.
Contact the writer: 714-704-3764 or aduranty@ocregister.com
