California’s “Operation Boo,” the state Corrections Department program that requires registered sex offenders to post signs on their front doors on Halloween, is being challenged in court.
The suit was filed by an advocacy group called California Reform Sex Offender Laws, which argues that Operation Boo makes registered sex offenders “sitting ducks” for predators.
“There are zero reported sexual assaults of children while trick-or-treating in California – zero,” says attorney Janice Bellucci, the group’s president, who's seeking a temporary restraining order before this year’s Halloween. ”So as far as we can tell, this is a solution without a problem.”
Bellucci says the state is applying the sign requirement to all sex offenders – even those whose victims weren’t children, and even if their crimes weren’t recent. The plaintiff in the suit is a registered San Diego County sex offender who committed his offense against an adult 30 years ago. He’s on parole now for a drug conviction.
The Corrections Department says it has yet to be served with the suit and therefore has no comment.
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