Rancho Cordova Police Crack Down on Registered Sex Offenders

Sixteen agencies and over 150 police officers participated today in a region-wide effort to ensure registered sex offenders are keeping their information up-to-date.

The Rancho Cordova Police Department knocked on doors througout the city to verify contact information for sex offenders living in the area. Megan’s Law currently lists 96 registered sex offenders living in Rancho Cordova, and 34 registered sex offenders living in the area of Sacramento immediately surrounding city limits.

“This is not an arrest operation,” Sergeant Pete James said. “These are checks. The goal of the operation is to make contact, verify the address.”

Police arrested a man on Bexley Drive during the sweep, but James said the only arrests the department would make during the operation would be for warrants or probation violations. “If they have probation or parole, they know they’re subject to search, but a regular, straight 290 [sex offender registration] we can’t really force our way in,” he said.

A neighbor who witnessed the arrest said he was surprised to find out a registered sex offender was in his neighborhood. “This is the first time I’ve seen any problems here,” he said. “Everything’s been nice and quiet on Bexley Drive.”

While most offenders contacted were in compliance, some had moved without notifying police of their new location. All registered sex offenders who are found not in compliance sex offender registry will be reported to officials for further investigation.

For more than 50 years, California has required sex offenders to register their contact and vehicle information so police can track their locations. Megan’s Law allows the public to access that information online at www.meganslaw.ca.gov, and sex offenders can be located by their name or address. Additionally, searches for entire cities or zip codes can yield the names and addresses of all sex offenders registered in that area.

Once the day-long sweep is complete, the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department will compile the results from each participating department.