Simi Valley Council Fights To Keep Sex Offenders Away From Trick-Or-Treaters
SIMI VALLEY (CBSLA.com) — The Simi Valley City Council Monday agreed to move forward with a newly-revised ordinance prohibiting registered sex offenders from participating in Halloween activities.
"I don't have any sympathy for pedophiles," said Mayor Bob Huber. "We need to do right by our children."
The ordinance had come up once before, but faced opposition.
Some roadblocks happened Monday night when a 17-year Department of Corrections program called "Operation Boo" was brought up by one of the city council members.
"The additional liability that we're putting on the city by passing something like this could be challenged in court," said Steven Sojka.
The council decided to go ahead with the ordinance with several changes, targeting only offenders visible on Megan's Law Registry and only those convicted of crimes against children.
The registered sex offenders must place a sign on their door that says: "No candy, no treats." They must also turn off all exterior lights and cannot open their doors to children on Halloween.
"Operation Boo" has several of those restrictions, but this new ordinance takes it out to the city level.
There are 119 registered sex offenders in Simi Valley.
The police chief told the city council that going back to 1980s, there has yet to be an incident with a sex offender and a child on Halloween.
