Sex offenders would be prohibited from handing out candy or displaying Halloween decorations during trick-or-treating hours under a plan that will be considered Tuesday by Riverside County officials.
Megan's Law Database
The proposal, a revision to the county's anti-loitering law that would place additional restrictions on registered sex offenders in unincorporated communities, will be considered at supervisors' 9 a.m. meeting.
Under the proposal, registered sex offenders would not be allowed to display Halloween decorations on Oct. 31. Exterior or ornamental lights would need to be turned off between 5 p.m. and 11:59 p.m. on Halloween.
It also would be illegal for a convicted sex offender to answers the door when trick-or-treaters visit.
The proposal, if approved, would become part of a larger anti-loitering ordinance approved last year. The ordinance makes it a misdemeanor for a sex offender to to be within 300 feet of a day care center, library, park, playground, public swimming pool, school or anywhere else that provides "classes or group activities for children."
Sex offender registrants also cannot reside within 2,000 feet of a school, park or other facility catering to kids, according to the ordinance.
Violators face fines of $1,000 or more and six months in jail.
California law requires anyone convicted of a felony sex offense to register with a local law enforcement agency when moving into an area. The law also requires that registrants alert authorities whenever they change residence, and that they annually renew their registration.
About 3,500 registered sex offenders reside in Riverside County, according to the Megan's Law sex offender database. Many of them live in municipalities not under county jurisdiction.
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