Megans Law In California

Parents: When It Comes To Sex Offender Lists, Less is More

In theory, Megan’s Law was a noble idea. Save the children! Empower parents! Give the public a fighting chance by letting them know where herds of predators roam free. But in practice, what was lauded as a shiny new tool for the parental toolbox has turned out to be a rusted axe, and over 14 years, that axe has come to have a very bloody blade.

I am sure you heard the horror stories from the first few years after Megan’s Law was enacted in 1997. For instance, in California, the state’s response to the Jacob Wetterling Act – the federal version of Megan’s Law – was to dump into the public domain 42,000 names of everyone convicted of a “sexual offense” over the previous 20 years. Included in that one-​size fits all release were many elderly gay men who had been convicted of sodomy, or “lewd and lascivious behavior” (often code for public displays of affection between two men) in the 50s and 60s when such things were illegal.

There were so many of these cases that California had to enact a procedure for these men to petition to have their names removed. I am sure that was not an insignificant or benign event in any of their rudely interrupted lives.

But that was 14 years ago, surely the system was tweaked and is now working to avert stranger danger wherever it is lurking? Think again.

All over the country sex offender registries, meant to give parents information, have been co-​opted as a law enforcement cudgel, used as a punishment, or as a plea bargaining tool for prosecutors. The result is there are now so many names on the various state’s list, there is very little chance any concerned citizen will be able to ferret out the true predators hidden among them.

In 2006 Congress finally took action to reign in the states. The Adam Walsh Act ordered each state to create a tiered system so flashers and rapists and young men who had sex with their underage partners are not all listed in the very same way. (Notice that “fix” only took nine years to enact.) My own state of Michigan set up a three-​tiered system in March of this year, and while I do hope the changes will mean fewer undeserving people are stigmatized unjustly, I am not hopeful that the Adam Walsh Act will really help make the program what it was meant to be: a source of pertinent information to help parents.

Bakersfield man gets 12 years for having child porn | Bakersfield ...

FRESNO, Calif. — A 63-year-old Bakersfield man is going away for more than 12 years for possessing child pornography.

John Edward Teichrow was sentenced Monday in federal court in Fresno, according to the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California. He entered a guilty plea in April.

Kern County deputies discovered in March 2010 that Teichrow wasn't in compliance with a sex-offender registration requirement. Specifically, he hadn't updated his address.

A subsequent search of Teichrow's computer and an external storage device showed he had saved at least 15 images of child pornography and had accessed numerous other images, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

Teichrow was charged and convicted in state court for failing to register as a sex offender, and he was charged in federal court for possessing child pornography.

The Megan's Law online registry of California sex offenders shows Teichrow had been convicted of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 years of age.

In addition to more than 12 years in prison, Teichrow will serve a lifetime term of supervised release.

California's Megan's Law

Tenants' Rights in California

Sexual violence, policies, practices, and challenges in the United States and Canada

California Tenants' Rights

How to Stop Crime? Megan’s Law as a Strategic Approach to Crime Prevention in the USA