Parolee back in Santa Monica
A convicted sex offender classified as “high risk” has been released from prison and is living in Santa Monica.
Arthur Akouris, 43, was ordered as a condition of his parole to register as a sex offender with the Santa Monica Police Department. He lives in the 1100 block of Chelsea Avenue, just north of Wilshire Boulevard and near Douglas Park.
Akouris was previously listed as a serious sex offender, a lesser status than high risk. He has been convicted of several offenses, some of which occurred in Santa Monica, police said. SMPD detectives did extensive research and background on Akouris with the Department of Justice to get his status elevated.
“Our detectives working sex crimes did additional follow up on this subject to move his status to high risk,” said SMPD Lt. Frank Fabrega. “It’s the (chief of police’s) policy that all high risk sex offenders get publicized.”
“It’s the (chief of police’s) policy that all high risk sex offenders get publicized.” — — LT. FRANK FABREGA SMPD spokesman
Akouris was identified as a high risk sex offender by the Department of Justice based on his criminal history. He is required to register as a sex offender as a result of his convictions.
Akouris is currently on felony parole with a condition that prohibits him from being out of his home between the hours of 7 p.m. to 8 a.m. He served time in prison for oral copulation and sexual battery, among other offenses.
The SMPD’s policy to publicize high risk sex offenders living in Santa Monica is made possible by Megan’s Law and allows the public additional information to protect themselves and their children. The law is not intended to punish the offender and specifically prohibits using the information to harass or commit any crime against the offender, police said.
In August, there were 50 registered sex offenders living in Santa Monica, according to results from a search of the Los Angeles County Sex Offender database. At that time, there was only one “high risk” sex offender living in Santa Monica. He is identified as Clark Ashley, a black male, who was convicted of rape by force or intimidation, oral copulation and oral copulation with a person under 14.
A person that is considered a “high risk” sex offender has been convicted of a violent sex offense as well as other offenses. A “serious” sex offender has been convicted of a felony sex offense or child molestation. Another level, classified as “other,” is sex offenders who have been convicted of either indecent exposure, spousal rape, misdemeanor sexual battery, pornography or incest.
In California, there are 1,774 high risk sex offenders; 77,254 serious sex offenders and 17,335 offenders that fall into the “other” category.
For more than 50 years, California has required dangerous sex offenders to register with their local law enforcement agencies. However, information on the whereabouts of these sex offenders was not available to the public until the Child Molester Identification Line in July 1995 was installed, according to the state attorney’s general office. The information available was further expanded by California’s Megan’s Law in 1996.
Megan’s Law is named after 7-year-old Megan Kanka, a New Jersey girl who was raped and killed by a known child molester who had moved across the street from the family without their knowledge. In the wake of the tragedy, the Kankas sought to have local communities warned about sex offenders in the area.
The law also authorizes local law enforcement to notify the public about high risk and serious sex offenders who reside in, are employed in or frequent the community.
Cities with populations over 200,000 are supposed to make information about their registered sex offenders available to the public under Megan’s Law. For those cities with smaller populations, like Santa Monica, the same information is made available at any Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department station. The database is updated quarterly throughout the year.
The state’s registry is often legally challenged. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld the state’s sex offender registry program in August when it was challenged by a man who was arrested for possession of marijuana and was found to be an unregistered sex offender.
Locally, the SMPD remains vigilant in its lookout for sex offenders that have not registered with the city in accordance with the conditions of their parole or release from prison.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 28, 2002. Read the original PDF.