Halloween Sex-Offender Safety Map: Watsonville 2018

WATSONVILLE, CA — Before kids go out trick or treating on Halloween, fall is a good time to take an inventory of who is living in your neighborhood. Checking to see how safe your Watsonville neighborhoods are is one way to start.

The California Department of Justice has a Megan's Law web site, which provides information on registered sex offenders, pursuant to California Penal Code § 290.46, so the public can better protect themselves and their families.

According to the website, there are 82 registered sex offenders in Watsonville, 16 of whom do not have current addresses and one who is currently in jail. For more details and to check your ZIP code or city for registered sex offenders, visit the Megan's Law website.

You may want to avoid trick or treating at these houses and apartments on Halloween, or merely be aware of who's living in your neighborhood during the rest of the year.

Law enforcement officials and researchers caution that the registries can play only a limited role in preventing child sexual abuse and stress that most perpetrators are known to the child. The U.S. Department of Justice, which oversees the National Sex Offender Public Website, estimates that only about 10 percent of perpetrators of child sexual abuse are strangers to the child.

The Justice Department estimates 60 percent of perpetrators are known to the child but are not family members but rather family friends, babysitters, child care providers and others, and 30 percent of child victims are abused by family members. Nearly a quarter of the abusers are under the age of 18, the department estimates.

See Also:

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• SF Bay Area Halloween Haunts; Corn Mazes & More: 2018 Guide

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