O.C. city likely to drop Halloween law aimed at sex offenders

An Orange County city will probably toss out a law requiring registered sex offenders to post a sign in front of their homes on Halloween to discourage trick-or-treaters after it was hit with a federal lawsuit alleging the practice is unconstitutional.

Registered sex offenders in the city of Orange are legally required to post a sign on Halloween, no smaller than 12 by 24 inches, that reads, “No candy or treats at this residence.” Violators face a $1,000 fine or up to a year in jail.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday on behalf of an individual identified only as “John Doe,” alleges the law violates the 1st Amendment rights of registered sex offenders and puts them, and anyone living with them, at risk of physical and emotional harm.

“If you think about it, a lot of older kids go out to trick rather than treat,” said Janice Bellucci, an attorney and president of the California Reform Sex Offender Laws group. “All you have to do is look for the house with the sign.”

“Instead of protecting the residents of the city of Orange, this ordinance harms hundreds of citizens in that city,” said Frank Lindsay, a board member for the group.

Bellucci filed a similar lawsuit last year to strike down a Simi Valley ordinance that also required people convicted of sex crimes to post a sign. That law also banned them from putting up Halloween displays and outside lighting on Oct. 31.

But the day before the Simi Valley law went into effect, federal court Judge Perry Anderson issued a temporary restraining order barring the city from enforcing the sign provision.

The judge let stand provisions of the ordinance that keep sex offenders from turning on outside lights, decorating their homes and answering their doors to trick-or-treaters.

Bellucci estimates there are about 100 registered sex offenders in Orange. The Megan’s Law online directory lists 84.

In Orange, no registered sex offenders have been cited since the ordinance was adopted, said City Atty. Wayne Winthers. When the city passed the law in February 2010 officials counted 81 registered sex offenders, with 81% of them having convictions involving minors, according to city records.

There was no need for the group to file the lawsuit, he said, since the city had been in contact with Bellucci and the City Council was expected to discuss the issue next week in closed session.

“I read the district court’s [Simi Valley] ruling and I don’t see any reason why the court would look at ours any differently,” said Winthers, who said he intended to ask the council to remove the sign requirement from the Halloween ordinance.

“Our intent wasn’t to bring any unnecessary harm or scrutiny to any particular individual,” Winthers said. “We just wanted to protect children.”

adolfo.flores@latimes.com