The City of Cypress has enacted a new municipal code for registered sex offenders living within city limits. It imposes a 500-foot proximity restriction for areas such as public or private schools, parks and child care centers. Existing laws prohibit any registered sex offender from living within 2000 feet of these “child safety zones,” and now the new ordinance mandates registered sex offenders not be within 500 feet proximity of them.
Offenders are also prohibited from loitering in and around “child safety zones,” and restricted from residing with other offenders unless related by blood, marriage or adoption. Currently, 34 registered sex offenders live in the city, according to Cypress Police Department.
Organizations participating in the Cypress Community Festival are responsible for complying with the new city’s ordinance for their vendors, employees or volunteers. They are required to complete a form obtained at the Cypress Chamber of Commerce, and are encouraged to check backgrounds on the California Department of Justice’s web site at www.meganslaw.ca.gov.
The City of Los Alamitos has a similar law in effect that established parks as “child safety zones,” as of November, 2011. “The Orange County District Attorney’s Office started these ordinances with the cities following suit,” said Los Alamitos Chief of Police Todd Mattern. Currently, there are 12 registered sex offenders residing in Los Alamitos, according to Mattern.
Sex offenders are already required to register with local law enforcement agencies, according to Megan’s Law. California’s Megan’s Law, which came into effect in 1996 and established a data base, is named after 7-year-old Megan Kanka of New Jersey who was raped and killed by a known child molester that had moved across the street from the family without their knowledge.
Additionally, felony sex offenders are to be monitored by GPS devices while on parole and for the remainder of their lives, according to Jessica’s Law (also known at Proposition 83). Jessica’s Law, which came into effect in 2006, also established the 2000 feet residency requirements, and was named after 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford of Florida who was a victim of a convicted sex offender that failed to report his whereabouts in spite of Megan’s Law already being on the books.