| For Immediate Release Case # 12HM12700 October 15, 2012 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami
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REGISTERED SEX OFFENDER CHARGED WITH VIOLATING SEX OFFENDER ORDINANCE BY ENTERING COSTA MESA PARK
NEWPORT BEACH – A registered sex offender has been charged with violating a sex offender ordinance by entering a Costa Mesa park. Stephen Lee Austin, 25, Costa Mesa, is charged with one misdemeanor count of illegally being a sex offender in a city park. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of six months in jail. Austin is scheduled to be arraigned Oct. 17, 2012, at 8:30 a.m. in Department H-8, Harbor Justice Center, Newport Beach.
Circumstances of Sex Offense Conviction
At approximately 9:00 p.m. on July 4, 2007, Austin was at a party at a home in Rubidoux, CA. While the rest of the party was outside the home, Austin swam alone with 11-year-old Jane Doe in the pool. Austin asked Jane Doe if she would like to play surgeon, pulled the bottom of Jane Doe’s bathing suit down until he exposed the victim’s vagina, and had her touch his erect penis with the back of her hands over his shorts. Jane Doe felt uncomfortable and got out of the pool. Austin then asked if she would enter his bedroom alone.
Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigated. On Dec. 10, 2007, Austin pleaded guilty to one felony count of lewd acts with a child under 14 years old and was sentenced to three years of formal probation and mandatory lifetime sex offender registration.
Costa Mesa Case
On July 9, 2012, Austin is accused of signing a document of acknowledgment that prohibits him from entering County parks and parks in cities that have enacted a sex offender ordinance. The cities, including Costa Mesa, are listed by name. The defendant is accused of signing the document, which advises that entering a park or prohibited area may result in a probation violation.
On Sept. 11, 2012, the defendant is accused of sitting on the west deck of the Costa Mesa Historical Society located within Lions Park, which is a named park in the Costa Mesa Ordinance (see below), and receiving a citation from a park ranger who warned the defendant that it was illegal to sit or climb on a public building. At approximately midnight on Sept. 12, 2012, Austin is accused of illegally entering Lions Park and sleeping on the west deck of the Costa Mesa Historical Society. A Costa Mesa Police Department officer was called to the scene and arrested the defendant.
Costa Mesa City Ordinance
The Costa Mesa City Ordinance was passed by the Costa Mesa City Council on April 17, 2012.