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Furor as sex offenders move near San Quentin
Neighbors upset that parolees live in trailer on prison grounds Mark Martin,
Peter Fimrite, Chronicle Staff Writers
Friday, May 5, 2006
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Twelve registered sex offenders who can't find a place to live moved into a
large trailer on the grounds of San Quentin State Prison Thursday, sparking an
angry outcry from people who live near the prison and Marin County officials who
want the parolees sent somewhere else. The unwelcome parolees had been living
in a Vallejo hotel until earlier this week, when the hotel owner kicked them
out, prisons officials said. Parole agents have been unable to find anywhere
else to put them and settled on San Quentin as temporary housing. The move
upset Marin County officials, who noted that none of the parolees was from the
county. "I am greatly disturbed that the Department of Corrections has decided
to round up a bunch of high-risk sex offenders from around the area and dump
them here in Marin County,'' said Assemblyman Joe Nation, D-San Rafael, who
appeared at a hastily called press conference with Marin County Sheriff Robert
Doyle. The dispute is an example of a
continuing problem up and down the state: With increasing restrictions on where
paroled sex offenders can live, state officials are having a harder time finding
homes for them. One of the parolees is from San Francisco, and a new state law
prohibiting some sex offenders from living within half a mile of schools leaves
only two areas in the city with hotels that could house offenders who don't have
family or friends they can move in with after release from prison, said Elaine
Jennings, press secretary for the state's Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation. Placing the parolees at San Quentin is the only way to keep
them from becoming homeless, which could lead to parole agents losing track of
them, she said. "This isn't optimal, but it's the safest short-term
solution,'' Jennings said. The parolees will live in a large trailer inside
the west gate of the prison grounds, which is near the Larkspur Landing shopping
area. They will have an 8 p.m. curfew and will
wear satellite tracking devices on their ankles so their whereabouts are known
continually, prisons officials said. Seven of the parolees were convicted of
child molestation; others went to prison for offenses ranging from indecent
exposure to corporal injury on a spouse. All are required to register as sex
offenders under the state's Megan's Law. Eight of the parolees are from Solano
County, one is from San Francisco, one is from Alameda, and two are from Sonoma.
Parolees typically are required to live in the county they lived in before they
went to prison. Jennings said the department simply couldn't find anywhere in
their counties to place the men and had put them in the Vallejo hotel. But the
hotel's ownership, which had a contract with the state to house sex offenders,
changed its mind. Jennings said the department would continue to work to find
somewhere else for the men to live. Residents who live just outside San
Quentin's eastern gate, who are used to
living near convicts who can't come and go freely, reacted with anger. "It's
like terrorism in our community,'' said Frances Barbour, a 40-year-old mother of
a 7-year-old. "We're not safe. This is a direct threat.'' "It's one thing when
they're behind the gate and they're not coming out,'' said Walter Villere,
another neighbor. "But when they have free rein, that's not good.'' Prison
officials scheduled an evening meeting with residents to explain their new
neighbors. The conflict has occurred before in California. Soledad residents
protested in 2003 when a child molester was released there; prisons officials
eventually put the offender in a trailer at another prison until he moved out of
state. And Martinez city officials objected when a convicted sex offender was
scheduled to be released into their city. The offender later moved to San Jose.
Aside from local opposition, tougher requirements regarding where sex offenders
can live has greatly complicated their
placement. Victims can request that offenders be prohibited from living close
to them, which is the case with three of the parolees now living at San Quentin,
Jennings said. Chuck Alexander, an official with the state prison guards
union, which also represents parole agents, noted that parole agents can find
themselves driving around for hours trying to find a legal spot for a parolee to
live. Alexander noted that a November ballot initiative that would impose more
residency restrictions on sex offenders "could exacerbate the problem.'' That
initiative, dubbed Jessica's Law after a Florida girl who was killed by a
convicted child molester, would prohibit sex offenders from living near schools,
parks or anywhere else children congregate. The state does not provide housing
for most parolees. But Jennings said the department pays particular attention
to sex offenders and does pay for their housing until something permanent can be
found. "The department believes
intense supervision of sex offenders is critical to public safety,'' she said.
Jennings noted that the department hoped to work more closely with local
communities to determine appropriate places for paroled sex offenders to live
and had created a new administrative position charged with coordinating housing
for sex offenders within the past few months. Last year, Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger vetoed legislation supported unanimously by the Legislature that
would have created a new commission to recommend the best ways to treat, track
and house the more than 100,000 sex offenders in the state. E-mail the writers
at markmartin@... and pfimrite@.... Page A - 1

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