January 13, 2005

Street Talk by Carol Rosen

The government—through Megan’s Law—has made a Web site* available on the Internet with names and
locations of child sex offenders. Have you accessed it? How would you react if you found that your neighbors or parents of your children’s friends were on the list?
(Asked at Via Valiente Plaza) (*www.meganslaw.ca.gov/)


“No, I have not accessed it partly because if I did find out if neighbors or my children’s friends parents were on the list it would be difficult to decide what to do. Such information would stick with you, and you wouldn’t be able to forget it. You would have to discuss with your spouse what action to take; i.e. move away or advocate the offender be relocated. I think as parents, we would need to decide what our responsibilities are at that point. It may be that we need to educate and teach our children what to do and what to look out for. In some cases people have turned their lives around. I have a brother who’s mentally challenged—he is bipolar—I can relate in the sense of people turning their lives around. It’s hard to know what to do.”

Jean Rummelhoff, 48
Almaden
Homemaker

“No, I haven’t accessed it, but I did go to the [San Jose] Police Department about five years ago, and found that there were some [sex offenders] in our neighborhood. Back then, the department ranked them based on the severity of their crimes and these people were not ranked very high, they were not the highest risk. But at the time, my children were very small and not running around. Now they actually have photos. If it’s just neighbors, they can be avoided. But if it’s parents of my children’s friends, then it’s a big deal. It would depend on the offense but I wouldn’t leave my children unattended at their house.”

Linda Ley, 47
Almaden
Part-time office manager

“I’ve tried to access the Web site, but I couldn’t reach it. We recently purchased a new home [in Almaden] and we heard that a sex offender was in the new neighborhood. I tried to Google the site, but all I found was some college in San Jose that actually called me back and wanted to know if I wanted a bachelor’s or a master’s degree.

If my children’s friends’ parents were on the list I wouldn’t let my children go there to play, although the child could come to my house.”

Nikolina Bergstrom, 38
Almaden
Homemaker

“We [my husband and I] tried to access the site, but we couldn’t get any information. I would get upset and afraid if we found a neighbor or one of our children’s friends’ parents on the list. I would stop the connection. Whether or not the child could come over to our house would depend on the child and its behavior.”

Minoo Shahbaze, 40ish
Almaden
Homemaker

“No I haven’t tried to access it, and I won’t unless there’s something that I know I should be aware of in the neighborhood—to verify something I’d heard. I have a big, burly 17-year-old son. In his case, I really don’t have much to worry about. But if I had small children, I wouldn’t want them to come in contact [with any sex offenders].

I would not let my [young] child play at their house, but it would be okay for the child to play at our house.”

Jan Koval, 50
Almaden
Self-employed art dealer

“No I haven’t tried to access it, but I would react negatively if I saw a neighbor or friend on the list. I would probably want to move. I don’t have little children, so I’m not worried. I’ve never had a problem.”

Arlene Diani, 50ish
Almaden
Co-owner of Protected Profits Insurance