Resolution on Limitations, Public Awareness, and the Full Disclosure of Sex Offenders

Resolution on Limitations, Public Awareness, and the Full Disclosure of Sex Offenders Present on College Campuses in California.

Whereas, months after the discovery that a registered sex offender, Doug Robert Figueroa, whom admitted in 2005 to kidnapping and committing lewd and lascivious acts on a boy under the age of 14, a detail that was not disclosed prior to his election, was found to be serving on the Riverside Community College student government; and

Whereas, it has become abundantly clear that students are not fully aware of the presence of convicted sex offenders present among the campus community.

Whereas, the positions of elected office on college campuses should attract quality leaders as candidates and these positions should be held by law-abiding students whom are of good character and upstanding representations of the constituency he/she is elected to represent.

Whereas, the clauses above underline the need for relevant and necessary information to be publically disclosed and made openly available to members of campus communities so that its members may perform their due diligence regarding the quality and character of their candidates for student government, and to raise the level of consciousness regarding those individuals whom are registered sex offenders and are members of the community that they may come in contact with while present on college campuses.

Whereas, the presence of registered and convicted sex offenders on college campuses across the state presents a serious threat to the safety of campus communities, and is a cause for alarm among the students—especially at Fresno State; and

Whereas, the Fresno State Division of Student Affairs’ Violence Prevention Project claims that “Sexual assault is the second most common violent crime committed on a college campus,” and “Most victims of campus sexual assault are full-time students; one-third of them are first-year students between 17 and 19 years of age.”

Whereas, rapists have a 24% rate of re-offense, child molesters targeting girls 16%, and child molesters targeting boys, 35%. Offenders with a previous sex offense conviction have a 37% re-offense rate. (Harris and Hanson, 2004)

Whereas, the presence of registered sex offenders on the campus interferes with the higher educational pursuits of law-abiding citizens—especially those whom have themselves become victims of a sex crime.

Whereas, the presence of registered sex offenders on campuses interferes with maintaining an educationally conducive learning environment for students; and

Whereas, the presence of convicted and registered sex offenders on the campus directly conflicts with the efforts of those student groups and departments of the university system which ASI sponsors such as Fresno State’s Women’s Resource Center which hosts events such as “Take Back the Night,” and support movements such as “One Billion Rising,” where it is their goal to end violence against women and raise awareness of sexual abuse, sexual assaults, and other sex related crimes being committed against women.

Whereas, Fresno State’s Division of Student Affairs’ Violence Prevention Project claims that “women on college campuses are at a greater risk for rape and other forms of sexual assault than women in the general population or in a comparable age group,” and “Nearly five percent of women on college campuses are victims of sexual abuse each year.”

Whereas, About 20 million out of 112 million women (18%) in the United States have been raped during their lifetime, and in 2006 alone, 300,000 college women (5.2%) were raped (Kilpatrick, Resnick, Ruggiero, Conoscenti, 2007); and

Whereas, University campuses conduct various classes in the late evening hours of the night, and participants of the campus community must traverse poorly lit areas of the campus including darkened parking lots, and where some of these courses require students to work on group related projects together with peers whom they are unfamiliar with that may be registered sex offenders, and

Whereas, 43% of all rapes/sexual assaults occur between 6 p.m. and midnight (Greenfield, 1997),

Whereas, legislation such as Title IX of Education Amendments of 1972, and university policies such as the California University System’s Executive Order 927, along with Fresno State’s Academic Policy 368 which outline an obligation to adhere and maintain a “zero tolerance” policy regarding sexual harassment on the campus, and the presence of sex offenders on California college campuses neglects this duty; and

Whereas, universities such as California State University, Long Beach and Fresno State contain child daycare centers and preschools where children play and the presence of registered sex offenders allowed to be on the same campus property can be described using two words, “repulsively disgusting;” and

Whereas, the parents for Megan’s Law and the Crime Victims Center organization report that the average serial child molester has between 360-380 victims in his lifetime

Whereas, universities such as Fresno State, contain High School institutions where the safety of teens and young adults whose ages range from 14-17 years of age is jeopardized by the presence of registered sex offenders on university property and the duty of providing safety to these individuals falls directly upon the responsibility of college administrators; and

Whereas, new legislation (AB1266) which takes effect on Jan 1st 2014 was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown of California, now allows males to use women’s restrooms, and females to use men’s restrooms on High school campuses which may be located on university property where sex offenders are known to be present thus elevating the risk for the occurrence of sexual crime.

Whereas, according to the US Department of Justice statistics show that 67% of sexual assaults have victims under the age of 18 (Greenfield, 1997)

Whereas, the parents and guardians of those students and children whom are enrolled in the various institutions located on university property where registered sex offenders are present, have a right to know about the presence such individuals whom are registered sex offenders so that as parents and legal guardians they may consider the potential risks posed to their children by enrolling them in these institutions; and

Whereas, Fresno State’s Division of Student Affairs’ Violence Prevention Project claims that “Most victims of sexual assault are attacked in places they thought were safe.”

Whereas, universities and colleges operate buildings which contain dormitories, living quarters, and the temporary homes, where young adult and underage students live, work, study, and leisure, it becomes the duty of property owners and landlords to notify their tenants of the presence of potential risks including the existence of convicted sex offenders visiting the campus and their respective residences; and

Whereas, the Fresno State Division of Student Affairs’ Violence Prevention Project states that “more sexual assaults occur on campus than off campus, half of the assaults occur in the victim's residence,” and “One of the four main factors which consistently increase the risk of sexual victimization to students is living on campus”

Whereas, six out of every ten rapes and/or sexual assaults occur in the homes of victims, family members, or friends (Greenfield, 1997)

Whereas, the increasing trend of violent and repeat sex offenders being released early from prisons or as a result of jail overcrowding in the state of California is a serious issue affecting campus safety; and

Whereas, on November 11th, 2012 a repeat sex offender, Fidel Tafoya, on early release from prison, sexually assaulted a Fresno State student in the Henry Madden Library located on the grounds of the Fresno State campus-- thus proving that sex crimes can and do occur on campuses—especially by registered sex offenders; and

Whereas, on November 20th, 2012 Fresno State was ranked as one of the nation’s top 25 most dangerous campuses in the nation and the presence of registered sex offenders on the campus negatively contributes to the safety risks of students on college and university campuses; and

Whereas, the purpose of 1947 California Law regarding sex-related crimes requiring sex offenders to register into a database with California Department of Justice (DOJ) through their local law enforcement agencies is to provide closer monitoring of sex offenders and prevent repeat offenses; and

Whereas, the intent of subsequent laws such as the 1996 California legislation titled “Megan’s Law” is to strengthen older legislation relating to sex crimes by authorizing law enforcement agencies to notify the public about convicted sex offenders living, working, or visiting the area.

Whereas, per California Penal Codes §290- §294, and according to the Megan’s Law website, not all sex offenders, and “registered” sex offenders, are located on the DOJ Megan’s Law database, thus highlighting the need for more public disclosure of those registered sex offenders whom are present on college campuses; and

Whereas, the text of “Megan’s Law” and California Penal Codes §290- §294 prohibits law-abiding citizens, or anyone in the campus community who is not a law enforcement official to make public announcements, make notifications, and or post public bulletins of any kind for distribution to the campus community to inform the community about registered sex offenders present on the campus; and

Whereas, the “Megan’s Law” website indicates that those wishing to publically inform their communities of the presence of registered sex offenders, living, working, or visiting the campus cannot do so without making themselves susceptible to civil and criminal litigation for attempting to raise awareness on the campus of the issue—thus the law fails to inform the citizens the law is intended to protect (Pen. Code § 290.46, subd. (j)); and

Whereas, the text of “Megan’s Law” is written in a manner that identifies disclosure of sex registrant information by someone other than law enforcement to another individual is only lawful in the interest of protecting “a person” (singular) such as a child, relative, or family member, rather than “persons” (plural) such as a specific group of people like a college community or student body which is “at risk”. (Pen. Code § 290.46, subd. (l))

Whereas, Megan’s Law and California Penal codes §290- §294 which only permits law enforcement agencies to notify the public of the presence of sex offenders provides police departments discretion to exercise this privilege rather than requiring them to notify their campus communities of the presence of registered sex offenders on university property (per Pen. Code § 290.45); and

Whereas, the text of “Megan’s law” makes the exception to prevent disclosing any information of individuals whom are registered sex offenders on college campuses to their communities on the grounds that such disclosure could be considered “misuse” of information and interfere with the “educational, scholarship, and fellowship” pursuits of registered sex offenders (Pen. Code § 290.46, subd. (l)); and

Whereas, the purpose of subsequent legislation like the 2000 Campus Sex Crime Prevention Act is to prevent sex crimes from occurring on college campuses by providing the tracking of convicted registered sex offenders enrolled as students at institutions of higher education, working, or volunteering on campus, but fails to properly address the issue of “full disclosure” of information regarding registered sex offenders on the campus; and

Whereas, the State of California, Federal Law, and the California University System has also neglected and failed to provide necessary and sufficient limitations regarding the presence of registered sex offenders on college campuses in the state; and

Whereas, there is an absence of necessary disclosure by the Fresno State Campus Police Department which is under the direction and supervision of university administration—specifically the Vice President of Administration, Cynthia Teniente-Matson, regarding the presence of sex offenders present on the campus.

Whereas, this absence of “full public disclosure” regarding the presence of sex offenders among the campus community directly conflicts with Fresno State’s police department’s motto which is, “See something, say something.”

Let it be resolved that, as the recognized student body government organization, which has a fundamental interest in the level of security found in our campus community and the individual safety those of whom it represents, Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) of California State University, Fresno establishes that the mere presence of registered sex offenders on the Fresno State campus and other campuses across the state “poses a high degree of risk” to the public, thus being a sufficient and necessary condition to meet the statutes of Pen. Code § 290.45 enabling campus police departments to immediately and publically disclose sex offender information of those present on the campus by posting physical notices of the name(s), alias(s), picture(s), and description(s) and date(s) of the offense(s) committed by each registered sex offender for open public disclosure to the campuses community.

Let it be resolved that, while the Campus Police Department is not required to disclose the presence of registered sex offenders on the university property to the campus community despite the substantial risk to the public, we will actively work to promote new legislation which allows and encourages law-abiding citizens to inform their communities when law enforcement opts not to recognize the substantial risks posed to the public by the presence of registered sex offenders on the campus grounds.

Let it be resolved that, the Fresno State ASI believes that those individuals whom choose to commit sex crimes are also choosing to forfeit certain rights and privileges afforded to the law-abiding citizen for life. Institutions of higher learning must foster an environment conducive to learning for law abiding individuals while protecting an image of prestige, thus permitting the presence of registered sex offenders to wander the campus and halls of our respective colleges adversely impacts this image. It is our position that such laws like Megan’s Law should not provide shelter, comfort, and protection to convicted and/or registered sex offenders present on the campus from being identified and discovered on colleges campuses.

Let it be resolved that, The Fresno State ASI establishes that current federal and state legislation, CSU System Policies, and University level policies such as Fresno State’s Academic Policies are insufficient to ensure that university and college communities are thoroughly informed of the potential risks posed by the presence of registered sex offenders on the campus. It is our recommendation that legislation regarding the sharing and transferring of relevant information which impacts campus safety such as the identities of registered sex offenders known to be present on college campuses must recognize that entities being “a specific person of interest” must be broadened to include “groups” at risk. Megan law should recognize a group of persons such as of students in a class room, a collection of students of a certain major or area of study, professors and instructors of certain classes, group of co-workers in an office located on campus, or in other words-- those individuals most likely to come in contact with such individuals whom are registered sex offenders are potential adverse parties “at risk,” and thus groups like student clubs, student bodies, and faculty are worthy of being fully informed of the presence of registered sex offenders in the immediate area.