5 Registered Sex Offenders In Danville: Halloween Safety

DANVILLE, CA — Before kids go out trick or treating on Halloween, some parents take inventory of who is living in their neighborhood — in particular, some want to know where registered sex offenders live.

The state of California maintains a public-access database that contains information about registered sex offenders living in Danville and statewide. The database can be found at the Megan's Law Website, which shows that five registered sex offenders live in and around Danville and Blackhawk — some of the offenders committed crimes involving children.

Visit the website to learn about who is in your neighborhood and the crimes they committed, but before doing so keep in mind that the California Department of Justice has not assessed the specific risk any convicted sex offender in the database currently poses to the community.

Furthermore, law enforcement officials and researchers caution that sex offender registries play only a limited role in preventing child sexual abuse and stress that most perpetrators are known to the child.

The U.S. Department of Justice, which oversees the National Sex Offender Public Website, estimates that only about 10 percent of perpetrators of child sexual abuse are strangers to the child.

The Justice Department estimates 60 percent of perpetrators are known to the child but are not family members. Instead, they are family friends, babysitters, child care providers and others. Thirty percent of child victims are abused by family members. Nearly a quarter of the abusers are under the age of 18, the department estimates.

Parents should also know that the California Department of Corrections’ Division of Adult Parole Operations and law enforcement partners conduct Halloween checks on known sex offenders to make sure they’re staying away from trick-or-treaters. Known as Operation Boo, officers are looking to ensure registered sex offenders are following the rules, which include:

◦All exterior lights of their homes must be turned off so that it looks as if no one is home

◦No offering of Halloween candy and no Halloween decorations are allowed

◦There is a curfew imposed on active sex-offender parolees: from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., parolees must remain indoors

The Operation Boo site also offers tips for a safe Halloween.

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