The death of seven year old Megan Kanka at the
hands of a convicted sex offender so enraged the country that
Federal legislation was passed to allow for the release of sex
offender information to the public.
California Penal Code Section 290.4a implements Megan's Law in
California. This law provides for the creation of a community
notification procedure authorizing California law enforcement
agencies to release information to the public regarding
registered sex offenders. The information may include the
identity and location of the offender. In addition, a CD-ROM
containing information on California's registered sex offenders
was released by the Department of Justice and made available to
the public at or thru many California law enforcement agencies.
The purpose of this legislation is to provide information to law
enforcement, and to individuals, parents and children, as well
as community organizations where children are supervised or
women are cared for. It is hoped that, armed with knowledge of
the description and whereabouts of sex offenders, community
members will be in the best possible position to protect their
children and themselves.
The Los Banos Police Department is referring all interested
parties who would like to view the Megan's Law CD-ROM to the
Merced County Sheriff’s Department located at 445 I Street. You
must be a qualified resident of the area which you are
requesting information on, and it must be for the purpose of
insuring public safety and protection.
The public is allowed to search the Megan's Law CD-ROM database
by name and/or by zip code. The public viewing portion of the
CD-ROM contains limited information on each registered sex
offender such as:
A photo of the sex offender
The sex offender's name
A description of the sex offender
A list of crimes for which the sex offender is
registered
Any other names associated to the sex offender.
The public portion of the CD-ROM does not allow viewing of
the specific street or address associated to a sex offender,
unless there is a specific threat that you can identify.
If you need information by phone, the California Department of
Justice maintains a 900 number for use by the public to identify
serious sex offenders. The number is 1-900-463-0400. There is a
$10.00 fee for information on up to two individuals.
