When Orange County’s Board of Supervisors last year banned registered sex offenders from county parks, they included a waiver process in the ordinance so that exceptions could be made.
If a sex offender worked on an asphalt crew that was paving a road in a county park, for example, he or she could apply for a waiver, Supervisor Shawn Nelson said at the time. The supervisors assigned the sheriff’s department to decide which waiver applications ought to be granted. That was in April 2011. Full Article
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Letter by OC Sheriff regarding the waiver option “… I do not foresee any circumstance under which I would grant permission for registered sex offenders to enter county parks.”
Letter referenced in the article (on behalf of Deputy CEO Drakodaidis) – p. 2 & 13
Quotes:
Article: “Since there is no criteria in the ordinance to say which waiver applications should be approved, it’s up to the sheriff’s discretion.”
OC Sheriff: “… I do not foresee any circumstance under which I would grant permission for registered sex offenders to enter county parks.”
Supervisor Bates: “… the fisherman was the son of an acquaintance whom she knew from the Chamber of Commerce she said”
’nuff said.
So, only one of 17 has been granted… “Nelson said in an interview last week that even if only one waiver has been granted, it shows that it is possible to obtain one.” He neglected to add “as long as they are a personal friend of an OC supervisor”.
He’s since “turned his life around,” she (Sup. Bates) says. Who is she to say that he has since turned his life around?????? And not someone else?
Unbelievable. I sure hope someone stays on that story.
An even bigger outrage, however, is that there are only 17 applications. Here is a thought… there are close to 2000 people listed on the web site for Orange County alone, a multiple of that in neighboring counties.
What if all of them were to apply? “Completed waiver applications are not public records” – so you have nothing to lose. How about swamping them with paperwork?
Perhaps if someone finds out what the process is the admin here could post it? It should be worth a stamp or the cost of a registered letter.
So very annoyed…
Its time for lawsuits. No one likes lawsuits. No criteria. Hmmm, I actually thought about going down there and applying for a pass? Although, lets think about it. Requesting a pass is in essence complying with this law and sending a statement to OC that this new law is okay and we will simply sit down and not take a stance. No way. We need to file a class action lawsuit and take this to Court. It will send a message to the DA who is simply seeking re-election. THis law is truly terrible.
I agree. Let’s file a lawsuit! In order to do that, we need resources….about $10,000 to get started. The “Donate” button is ready to receive donations to this good cause.