It’s not a scarlet letter, but those signs that are required to be hanging on undecorated residences in the Southern California city of Simi Valley on Halloween will get the message across none-the-less: “No candy or treats at this residence.”

The Ventura County town passed an ordinance last month requiring that all 67 Simi Valley sex offenders listed on the Megan’s Law website post well-lit signs with letters at least one inch tall warning trick-or-treaters that this is no place to seek favors. Another 52 local sex offenders who have been convicted of just misdemeanors aren’t included on the list.

There is no record of any child in the city ever being assaulted on Halloween by someone on Megan’s list, and according to a 2009 national study by Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, sexual predators are no more likely to assault children on the holiday.

Last week, an attorney for five of the listed offenders asked a judge in U.S. District Court, Central District, Western Division to grant an injunction against enforcement of the ordinance. Attorney Janice Bellucci, who is head of the advocacy group California Reform Sex Offender Laws, likened the “branding” to Jews having to wear yellow stars on their clothing in Nazi Germany.

Simi Valley City Council member and Los Angeles Police Officer Mike Judge disagrees and says the city isn’t branding the sex offenders because, “They’re already branded.”

The lawsuit alleges that the ban on decorations and the sign requirement violate the First and Fourteenth amendments to the Constitution, denying the sex offenders freedom of expression and due process of the law. Belluci, who noted that there were 20 jurisdictions in the state with similar restrictions, said it was the first such challenge in California.

Simi Valley is not alone among states and communities that get spooked during Halloween and take extra precautions. According to FindLaw.com, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Texas have passed “No Candy” laws and Florida also prohibits the sex offenders from wearing costumes.  

California is no stranger to so-called “candy laws.” The state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has run Operation Boo―a program that targets sex offenders statewide on Halloween―for 18 years. It imposes a 5 p.m.-to-5 a.m. curfew on offender parolees, requires house lights to be turned off, forbids decorations and candy offerings, and limits house guests to inquiring agents of law enforcement.

Operation Boo does not, however, require that a sign be posted.

–Ken Broder  

To Learn More:

Lawsuit Seeks to Block Simi Valley's Halloween Sex Offender Ordinance (by Mike Harris, Ventura County Star)

Simi Valley's Halloween Law Is a Bad Trick, Sex Offenders Say (by Steve Chawkins, Los Angeles Times)

Halloween Sex Offender Laws (FindLaw)