Percentage of sex offenders falls

Editor's note: This is the second in a series looking at parolees living in the High Desert. Click here to read part one.

Some parole officials and critics say the 2006 state law praised for protecting children from sex offenders could be pushing more sex offenders into open areas like the Victor Valley.

But the percentage of local sex offenders has actually declined slightly from four years ago, records show.

Some argue the voter-approved Jessica’s Law, which bars sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of schools or parks, has made the vast majority of metropolitan areas off limits for sex offenders, sending them to more rural locales.

“Jessica’s Law had a consequence of consolidating and condensing sex offenders into particular areas,” said Jerome Marsh, spokesman for the California Department of Corrections.

While that may be true in other rural areas, records show the Victor Valley hasn’t seen a sex offender surge at this point.

Today 432 registered sex offenders reside in Adelanto, Apple Valley, Hesperia and Victorville — representing 0.15 percent of the current population, according to Megan’s Law records. In 2005, the year before Jessica’s Law passed, the Victor Valley housed 429 sex offenders, or 0.17 percent of the 2005 population.

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Natasha Lindstrom may be reached at 951-6232 or at nlind strom@VVDailyPress.com.