There are no Halloween decorations, fun-size candy treats, or costumes in these houses. The residents can’t have any contact with children. And there’s a good reason. They are sex offenders.
During this Halloween week, San Diego County Probation checked up on recently released sex offenders in the North County. They arrested two sex offenders for violating the terms of their release.
The probation department sent out letters to sex offenders this month reminding them of their restrictions, said Noel Susi, supervising probation officer. Probation officers would be checking on them, the letters warned.
The day before Halloween, three teams of Probation and Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement task force members made unannounced visits on 36 felony sex offenders, who had been convicted of offenses against children.
One sex offender was re-arrested for being in the company of young relatives at his home and for having Halloween decorations inside. Another was arrested for being in possession of pornography, a violation of the conditions of his release, said Susi.
The teams made sure nothing about the offender’s house looked inviting to children and the offender was not in violation of any of his or her other restrictions.
On Halloween, officers were back out again following up on the same homes without drawing undue attention in the community. Officers seized two costumes from a sex offender, but no one was arrested.
They wanted to be certain sex offenders didn’t string up lights and hand out candy after the probation officers left.
Sex offenders were given a 6 p.m. curfew on Halloween through 6 a.m. the next day. They were also encouraged not to attend parties or be out where they might run into children.
Other local and state law enforcement agencies carried out similar operations in San Diego County on Halloween.
“Our key mission is to make sure that children are safe,” said Susi. “We’ve done this year in and year out, and a lot of our offenders are aware of this so they are usually in compliance.”
Susi said while their first concern is the safety of the children, there is also some concern for the safety of the sex offender. Sometimes sex offenders can be recognized from the Megan’s Law website and can be threatened by people in the community, she said.
