This past Halloween, the Los Angeles County Probation department carried out a special operation to ensure that the children in the area remained safe during the festivities and, in the process, they arrested several people as they carried out checks on those who were thought to pose the highest risk to children.
Sponsored School(s)
The operation began at dawn, when Special Enforcement Officers went to check on those convicted of sex crimes against children at around 48 different locations. Previously they used to do the raids on the night of Halloween but the sex offenders were used to that, so this year they began very early in the day. They arrested five men and confiscated computers, computer equipment and storage cards and USBs. They also confiscated some drugs.
The law states that registered offenders are not allowed to open their doors to children at Halloween or to hand out candy to them. They must not encourage children to stop by their homes, which means they cannot decorate their home for Halloween nor can they have their lights on outside on Halloween evening and night. In addition they cannot leave their homes on that night apart from those having treatment or those who happen to be at work.
The Probation department also asked parents to ensure that they stayed with their children and be careful as to which residences they went to, avoiding those which had no decorations or lights.
The arrests included a man at a home in Pomona who was in violation of his parole as a 10 year old girl was spending the night with her grandfather in the house.
In Santa Clarita, another sex offender who shared the home with his mother was arrested as she looked after children during the day at the same address. The terms of his parole did not allow children to be present in the home.