By Lookout Staff
September 23, 2009 -- Santa Monica has 31 sex offenders living within its borders, nearly all of them south of Wilshire Boulevard, according to a list released by the California Attorney General's office. Seven of them are in violation of their registration requirements.
Of the 31 registered sex offenders, 16 live south of Pico Boulevard in Ocean Park and Sunset Park, while ten live between Pico and Wilshire boulevards. Five live north of Wilshire, reflecting a pattern indicating that most sex offenders live in the poorer parts of town.
Of the 19 required to list a specific address because they were convicted of more serious crimes, 13 were apartment dwellers and six lived in single family homes.
Two lived in exclusive neighborhoods north of Alta Avenue -- one, who was convicted of forcible rape, at 417 16th Street, the other, convicted of lewd or lascivious acts with a child, at. 465 Hillside Lane.
By contrast, Culver City, which has some 38,000 residents, had 32 sex offenders, one more than the beachside city of 84,000. Beverly Hills, which has about 34,000 had just seven.
Pasadena, which has some 147,000 residents, had 109 sex offenders, while Malibu, with about 13,000 residents, had four.
Paroled sex offenders tend to live in rural, affordable areas, a pattern furthered after Jessica's Law effectively banished many sex offenders from urban areas.
List and pictures of sex offenders living in Santa Monica. Map showing where they live.
Since the 1997 passage of Megan's Law, California residents have been able to access information on sex offenders registered in their communities from computer terminals located at certain Sheriff's offices and police departments throughout the state.
According to the California Attorney General's Office, the state has required dangerous sex offenders to register with their local law enforcement agencies for more than 50 years. But specific information regarding the whereabouts of these offenders was not made available to the public until July 1995 with the implementation of the Child Molester Identification Line.
In 1996 the federal government took a further step with Megan's Law, named after seven-year-old New Jersey resident Megan Kanka, who was raped and murdered by a twice-convicted sex offender living across the street.
The law requires released sex offenders to register their names as well as their addresses with their local law enforcement agencies. The federal law required all states to enact their own Megan's Laws by September 1997.
The state doesn't publish addresses for about 25 percent of registered sex offenders, mostly those who have been convicted of less serious crimes.
