By MICHAEL J. TITTINGER Daily Press Staff Writer
LA COUNTY — The arrest Saturday night of a convicted child molester, who was forbidden to enter the Santa Monica city limits, brings to the fore the role a community can play in apprehending such fugitives.
After reading about a former co-worker who was wanted by police in the morning, Julie McGray and Manuel Monson spotted him dancing on the field at Santa Monica College shortly before the fireworks show was set to begin.
On their tip, Robert Francis Gibbons was taken into custody by police and subsequently arrested, but the ordeal left the couple shaken. When she returned home that evening, McGray logged on to the Megan’s Law Web site.
“I just had to see where these predators are, and found six around me,” said McGray, who briefly worked with Gibbons at a Santa Monica exterminator company. “Now my son is looking it up and finding people he knows on there. More people need to know that information is out there.”
There are 38 registered sex offenders currently living in Santa Monica, according to the Megan’s Law Web site, presented by the Attorney General’s office. Eleven of those offenders are reported to be in violation of their registration requirements.
Megan’s Law, which was established on May 17, 1996, requires that each state develop a procedure for notifying its residents of sex offenders living amongst them. The Department of Justice site provides information on more than 63,000 persons required to register as sex offenders in California.
There are presently more than 11,000 registered sex offenders within LA County, spread throughout the region. To the south of Santa Monica, in Venice Beach, there are 29 registered offenders, 16 of whom are said to be in violation. In Marina del Rey, there are eight offenders, three in violation.
While there is just one registered offender north in Malibu, there are six to the east in Westwood,two of whom are in violation.
While some would rather not know the transgressions of their neighbors, no matter how seedy, others can’t fathom how a parent or guardian can be complacent and ignorant to the histories of those with whom they share their community.
“Instead of kids playing games on the computer, they should be spending some time looking up faces,” McGray said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 7, 2006. Read the original PDF.