the crime report

California parole officials have issued new rules that increase monitoring of thousands of sex offenders already required to wear global positioning system tracking devices, reports the Los Angeles Times. The move that comes after sharp criticism of high-profile lapses by the department. Parole agents must now track the whereabouts of nearly 5,000 low-level sex offenders through ankle monitors at least four days a month. Previously, no policy mandated how often low-level offenders had to be tracked. An additional 2,000 high-risk sex offenders, who already are supposed to be monitored daily, must be visited by a parole officer at their homes twice a month, up from one monthly visit. (more…)

(more…)

The deaths of two teenage San Diego-area girls spurred calls by politicians and parents for tougher laws to deal with sex offenders. California already has a slew of sex offender measures, such as Jessica’s Law, barring offenders from living near schools or parks, and Megan’s Law, requiring an offender registry. Experts tell National Public Radio that the case of John Gardner, charged in one San Diego case and a target in the other, is exhibit A in Megan’s Law’s limitations. (more…)

(more…)

(more…)

(more…)

(more…)

(more…)

In another case that will focus attention on the monitoring of sex offenders, a California sex offender has been arrested in an apparent San Diego-area murder. San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore said it was a “strong likelihood” that a body found yesterday was Chelsea King, 17, who had been missing since Thursday when she went for a jog in a park, reports the San Diego Union-Tribune. John Albert Gardner III, 30, a registered sex offender, was arrested Sunday on suspicion of rape and murder. (more…)

(more…)