Sexual Predators

"Slamming Door on Predators" (May 2) examines the problem of releasing sexual predators, child molesters and rapists from prison when they finish their sentences. No institution and no open society wants them because the risk of re-offense is so high. There is a good solution. Why not use one of the largely uninhabited Channel Islands as a permanent residence for these dregs of humanity? At comparatively little cost, an island could be made habitable, and the wide Pacific moat would ensure security.

Reporting from State College, Pa. — A sense of betrayal and disgust seems to have washed over the normally tranquil, tree-lined campus of Penn State University. A child-sex abuse scandal has badly bruised pride in the school and its hallowed football program. The fact that university officials apparently failed to report an alleged sexual predator to outside authorities has been even more incomprehensible. On Tuesday, amid the rolling hills of central Pennsylvania, in a place often referred to as Happy Valley, outraged students were speaking out in harsh appraisals of their leaders.

When Anthony Martinez of Beaumont was abducted and molested in April, his killer enticed the 10-year-old by asking him to look for a lost cat. Sex crime experts immediately recognized a pattern: Asking for the child's help is the most common lure child molesters use. With 70,000 registered sex offenders in California--3,132 in Orange County alone--investigators and community education experts decided parents should be warned about techniques molesters use to attract children.

Match.com settled a lawsuit brought by a sexual assault victim by agreeing Tuesday to conduct background checks on all members to screen out known sex offenders. Screenwriter Carole Markin proclaimed victory for the millions of singles who make use of online dating services, saying Match.com's commitment to security screening could prevent attacks such as the one she suffered last year on a second date with Alan Paul Wurtzel of Pacific Palisades, who had at least six previous sex offense convictions.

Gov. Pete Wilson is scheduled to sign legislation today at a ceremony in Covina to keep repeat sex offenders off the streets for at least two years beyond their prison terms. Wilson will sign the two "sexual predator" bills into law in front of Covina's Police Department on Citrus Avenue next to Central Park, where 3,000 residents held a candlelight vigil last November to oppose the release of convicted serial rapist Reginald D. Muldrew.

Before parents shudder at the thought of sex offenders now being allowed to live within 2,000 feet of schools and parks, they should remember the utter lack of evidence that the restriction ever kept a child from being molested. Sexual predators don't stick to a half-mile radius when it comes to finding victims. And making them homeless, as Jessica's Law sometimes did, is more dangerous to the public. That's why Thursday's Superior Court ruling that found sections of the law unconstitutional isn't just good news for ex-convicts trying to find a place in society; it's better for society too. "It's harder to protect the public when he is homeless," a Ventura County prosecutor told The Times three years ago, when a molester there was unable to find housing.

Sitting at his desk in the back corner of the Oxnard police station, Det. Mike Adair leans close to his computer screen to ponder the question. "Will you be my cyberslave?" The message is not intended for the 32-year-old detective, but for the 13-year-old girl Adair pretends to be while trolling for sex offenders on the Internet. It doesn't take much to get their attention.

Patrick J. Naughton, the former leader of Walt Disney Co.'s online efforts who last week was arrested on sex charges by the FBI, couldn't seem to avoid undercover agents in the seedy chat rooms he is accused of frequenting. Just last month, he had at least two undercover agents competing for his virtual affections.

Federal law gives MySpace.com immunity from a lawsuit over the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl by a man she met on the social networking website, a federal appeals court ruled. The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit that a Texas girl's family filed against MySpace and its parent company, News Corp. The family said MySpace didn't protect young users from sexual predators.

Veteran Covina Police Chief John F. Lentz, who successfully pushed for a new state law to keep sexual predators off the streets, is retiring after 31 years with the department and a dozen years as its boss. As judges, prosecutors and local officials applauded, the City Council honored Lentz on Tuesday for his efforts in drafting the new law. It was Lentz's last council session before his retirement at the end of the month.

A 30-year-old man arrested in the kidnapping and brutal sexual assault of a 9-year-old girl had rented a room from the victim's family months ago and may be responsible for other attacks, Riverside police said Tuesday. Jose Wilson Rojas Guzman, 30, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, has been charged with attempted murder, kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault. He is being held on $1-million bail and has been placed on an immigration hold. "This is a particularly brutal crime," said Riverside Police Chief Sergio G. Diaz.

Before parents shudder at the thought of sex offenders now being allowed to live within 2,000 feet of schools and parks, they should remember the utter lack of evidence that the restriction ever kept a child from being molested. Sexual predators don't stick to a half-mile radius when it comes to finding victims. And making them homeless, as Jessica's Law sometimes did, is more dangerous to the public. That's why Thursday's Superior Court ruling that found sections of the law unconstitutional isn't just good news for ex-convicts trying to find a place in society; it's better for society too. "It's harder to protect the public when he is homeless," a Ventura County prosecutor told The Times three years ago, when a molester there was unable to find housing.

Of all the ill-considered ballot initiatives approved by California voters over the years, few can match Jessica's Law for sheer self-destructiveness. The measure, billed as a way to protect children from sexual predators when it appeared on the ballot in 2006 as Proposition 83, is worsening the yawning state budget gap amid zero evidence that it's protecting anyone -- in fact, according to a state panel, it may be threatening public safety.

A man who drove to a park expecting a sexual tryst with a 13-year-old girl was snared in a police sting instead and is facing felony charges, authorities said Wednesday. Scott Fish, 34, of Anaheim was charged Tuesday with attempted lewd acts with a child and sending pornography to a minor. Laguna Beach Police Sgt. Darin Lenyi said detectives began the undercover investigation Aug. 1 after Perverted Justice, a nonprofit group that identifies sexual predators on the Internet, allegedly identified Fish as a suspect who had solicited sex acts from what he thought was a 13-year-old girl.

Federal law gives MySpace.com immunity from a lawsuit over the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl by a man she met on the social networking website, a federal appeals court ruled. The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit that a Texas girl's family filed against MySpace and its parent company, News Corp. The family said MySpace didn't protect young users from sexual predators.

No one will ever confuse Jim Murray with a teenager. His tall frame, broad shoulders and clipped, gray hair give him away for the grandfather he is. But the 69-year-old retired police chief of this small Missouri farm town cuts a credible figure as a 13-year-old girl surfing the Web, looking for friends. He knows all the instant-messaging shorthand, the emoticons. Murray's retirement job from a rural home office has netted 20 arrests since he started in 2002.

A Los Angeles man was sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison for traveling to Thailand to engage in illicit sexual activity with minors, officials said. Steven Erik Prowler, 58, had served a year in prison in Thailand for molesting teenage boys when he was deported and forced to face charges in the United States in May 2006.

Re "Sky Was Limit for Cadet, Until Her Harassment Complaint," March 12: As the mother of two young girls and the wife of a retired Marine, reading about the reports of sexual abuse against women at the Air Force Academy makes my skin crawl. These alleged sexual predators are now officers in the U.S. military. Having seen the power and respect that officers in command demand, it makes me wonder how many rapes and assaults have been committed. Young enlisted women, at age 18 or 19, have been programmed to obey these officers.

Forgiveness is a noble attribute ("Forgive and Be Well?" Dec. 31). However, in cases of rape and incest, it's crucial to pursue justice first and forgive later. Sexual predators who are locked up can't continue to abuse, and a victim's self-esteem may be helped by seeing justice done. But getting incestuous relations and rapists to court is very difficult, and an emotional nightmare for victims. The additional pressure to "forgive at all costs" would make it just that much harder, I fear.

Two years after California opened the nation's largest facility designed to house and treat men who have been declared sexually violent predators, Coalinga State Hospital is described by both patients and staff as an institution in turmoil. Convinced that they stand little chance of being released and angry about perceived deficiencies at the hospital, patients are engaged in a tense standoff with administrators, according to interviews with more than 40 patients and staff members.