| For Immediate Release November 16, 2011 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami |
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY APPLAUDS YORBA LINDA FOR ADOPTING NEW LAW TO KEEP REGISTERED SEX OFFENDERS OUT OF CITY PARKS AND PLAYGROUNDS
SANTA ANA – The City of Yorba Linda enacted a law yesterday to create child safety zones to protect children from registered sex offenders in city parks and playgrounds. Yorba Linda City Council voted unanimously, Nov. 15, 2011, to pass the ordinance. The City Council includes Mayor Nancy Rickel, Mayor pro tem Mark Schwing, and Council Members John Anderson, Tom Lindsey, and Jim Winder. There will be a second reading of the Ordinance at a later date, making it effective 30 days after that reading.
Orange County Senior Assistant District Attorney Mary Anne McCauley was present at the City Council meeting to address public concerns and advocate for the passage of the Ordinance.
“Yorba Linda is the first City in the northeast corner of our County to create Child Safety Zones to protect children. Thank you to Yorba Linda City Council for claiming the parks for parents and children and helping to keep them safe from predators,” stated District Attorney Tony Rackauckas.
California Penal Code sections 290, et seq. requires individuals convicted of certain crimes to register as sex offenders. The registration process is used to ensure that such offenders shall be readily available for police surveillance at all times because such offenders are deemed likely to commit similar offenses in the future.
The Yorba Linda City Ordinance was modeled after the County Ordinance, which was passed unanimously by the Orange County Board of Supervisors April 5, 2011, and took effect May 5, 2011, to create a child safety zone to further protect children from registered sex offenders in County parks and harbors. The County Ordinance was developed and proposed by District Attorney Rackauckas and Supervisor Shawn Nelson (Fourth District) and makes it a misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail and/or a $500 fine, for registered sex offenders to enter County recreational areas where children regularly gather without permission from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD), who enforce the Ordinance.