Police: Offender’s crimes didn’t involve children
NORTH OF MONTANA — Mothers concerned over a registered sex offender who lives across the street from Roosevelt Elementary demanded on Thursday that the school district step up efforts to ensure student safety.
“These people will tell you themselves the time they spent in prison does not rehabilitate them,” said Mary Beth DeLucia, whose daughter attends Roosevelt.
When DeLucia found out this week that a sex offender lives in her neighborhood, she said it brought back fearful memories about a 2001 incident in which a man wandered into Roosevelt and forced a boy into a bathroom stall.
The incident caused concern among parents and, according to DeLucia, was never fully addressed by the school district.
Alex Okner, 50, a white male described as being six feet, four inches tall and 285 pounds, lives in an apartment on the 600 block of Lincoln Boulevard, across the street from Roosevelt. He is listed on the California Justice Department’s Megan’s Law Web site, which tracks the whereabouts of registered sex offenders throughout the state. The site became available to the public in December.
DeLucia said rumors began circulating this week among Roosevelt parents that Okner was listed on the site for having had “oral copulation with a person under 14.” The implication is false, according to Santa Monica Police Department Lt. Frank Fabrega.
“All of the crimes he (Okner) has committed are against adults,” Fabrega said. “He has never been charged with commit-ting a crime against a minor.”
Fabrega said that because of how the California penal code is written, sometimes sex offenders such as Okner who have committed crimes against adults appear to be categorized on the Web site with those who have committed the same crimes against minors, even if they have not.
“The Santa Monica police is working with the Justice Department to correct the problem,” Fabrega said.
Okner’s mother, who declined to give her name, said on Friday that her son was convicted more than 20 years ago for a crime involving a prostitute outside of Santa Monica. She said she’s concerned with the attention the crime has been attracting recently. Okner has received phone calls from people in the community who know nothing of his crime and how difficult it has been for himself and those close to him, she said.
DeLucia said she was reassured to know Okner was not a convicted pedophile, but she said it doesn’t change the fact that better security is needed at Roosevelt. She said she organized a parent watch after the incident at Roosevelt in 2001. Two students entered the bathroom and saw the man. They notified school staff, who then notified police, and the man was taken away by police.
To help ensure similar incidents were not repeated, DeLucia said she spoke to the school board about her security concerns in January 2001. She said the school board promised to have a permanent plan in place to address security by the fall, but there was no mention of it again.
“Security at our schools is not a job for volunteers, or brave little boys. We need something done right now to protect our children. “We don’t want to wait for the next tragedy to happen.”
“You saw the need. You said you would do something about it, and it fell by the wayside,” DeLucia told the school board at its Thursday’s meeting. “I consider it negligent.”
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy said budget cuts are forcing the district to consider other options to address security issues at the elementary schools.
“The budget cuts have been clear, so that’s why I’ve been working with the city and police to patrol the elementary schools,” Deasy said.
Roosevelt parents said that any steps the district took toward improving security at the elementary schools would be a step in the right direction. They said doors are supposed to be locked at all times during school hours. Even so, parents said they would like district officials to place a fence with a gate around the school, or provide paid-for security from an outside source.
Roosevelt parent Jody Kasten said Deasy’s idea of increased police patrols was a good one, depending on the frequency.
“Everything is secondary to the safety of our children,” she said.
MEGAN’S LAW AND SANTA MONICA According to Fabrega, there are six detectives, one criminal analyst and one supervisor who track sex offenders in Santa Monica for the police department. He said the police notify community agencies of sex offenders in the area on a case-by-case basis, and schools are patrolled regularly during peak traffic hours.
California Assembly Bill 488 was passed by the legislature and signed by Governor Schwarzenegger in September 2004. The bill allows the public to access on the Internet detailed information on sex offenders who are required to register with local law enforcement under Megan’s Law. California’s Megan’s Law was enacted in 1996, allowing local law enforcement agencies to notify the communities about sex offender registrants who may pose a threat to the public.
The law is named after 7-year-old Megan Kanka, a New Jersey girl who was raped and killed by a known child molester who moved across the street from the victim, without her family’s knowledge. In the wake of the tragedy, the Kankas sought to have local families warned about sex offenders in the area. All states now have some form of Megan’s Law, according to the California Justice Department. Before December, information on registered sex offenders through Megan’s Law was only available by personally visiting police stations or sheriff offices.
According to the Web site, there are 43 registered sex offenders in Santa Monica but 17 of them are in violation, meaning they have failed to update law enforcement agencies on where they live, as required by Megan’s Law.
There are more than 63,000 ex-convicts required to register in California as sex offenders, more than half of whom have their last known address displayed, according to the Web site.
Fabrega said there are three types of sex offenders. “High-risk” offenders are those who have committed multiple sex crimes. They must update law enforcement every 90 days on where they live. There are no high-risk registered sex offenders living in Santa Monica, Fabrega said. “Serious” offenders, such as Okner, have committed a felony which requires them to be registered in the Megan’s Law database and notify law enforcement where they live on an annual basis, within five business days after their birthday. “Other” sex offenders are those who have committed a misdemeanor, not requiring them to notify law enforcement agencies where they live.
It’s not known how many un-registered sex offenders may be living in Santa Monica. Transient sex offenders, who may be among the city’s homeless population, are required to update law enforcement every 30 days on where they live. Transients in Santa Monica who have committed a sex crime and have violated terms of their parole are arrested. Last year, 14 transient sex offenders were arrested. This year, there have been five arrests, Fabrega said.
To find out more about Megan’s Law, visit the California Justice Department’s Web site www.meganslaw.ca.gov.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 5, 2005. Read the original PDF.