Thousands of convicted pedophiles in California have been released from prison after spending less than a year in prison, according to a recent analysis.
“The statistics clearly show that pedophiles are not reformed. They will leave and they will commit again,” former Los Angeles sex crimes prosecutor Samuel Dordulian told the Daily Mail.
Using California’s Megan’s Law website, the Daily Mail found that there were more than 7,000 sex offenders convicted of “lewd or lewd acts with a child under the age of 14” but released from prison within less than a year of conviction.
“By letting these people out early, we’re allowing a lot more victimization. And that’s scary,” added Dordulian.
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Prisoners wearing fire boots line up for breakfast at Oak Glen Conservation Fire Camp #35 in Yucaipa, Calif., November 6, 2014.REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
(REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson)
In addition, the report found that predators convicted of ongoing sexual abuse of a child spent less than a year in prison, as well as three cases of convicts who abducted children under 14 “with the intent to commit lewd or lewd acts” and nearly 40 cases of sodomy with a child under 16.
The report is based on data prior to 2019 due to “digital locks” that were added to the Megan’s Law website that prevent more recent analysis, according to the outlet. The website shows that there are currently 61,770 sex offenders in California, although it is not clear how many are pedophiles.
The investigation examined 54,986 sex offenders listed on the Megan’s Law website in July 2019 and found that 76% of offenders had committed crimes involving children. Data were determined by comparing the published dates of a pedophile’s conviction with the date of release.
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Convicted pedophiles spend an average of two years and 10 months in prison, according to the report.
In this August 16, 2016 file photo, a line of general population inmates walk in a line at San Quentin State Prison in San Quentin, California. Three-quarters of California district attorneys sued the state on Wednesday, May 26, 2021, in an attempt to block emergency rules that expand good conduct claims and could eventually bring early releases for tens of thousands of inmates.
(AP photo/Eric Risberg, archive)
Megan’s Law is a federal law that requires law enforcement to make information about sex offenders available to the public. It was passed under the Clinton administration following the murder of 7-year-old Megan Kanka in New Jersey in 1994.
California Republican Representative Darrell Issa slammed the report’s findings in a Fox News Digital commentary, arguing that the state must either prove the data untrue or immediately correct policies that allow early releases.
“This disturbing report poses a critical challenge for California: prove it untrue or take immediate action to reverse policies that contradict any sense of justice. The spirit that made Megan’s Law a reality is as important to public safety as always, and there must be a clear and consistent standard for truth in convicting the most violent and dangerous criminals.”
California Republican Party Chair Jessica Millan Patterson added in a comment to Fox News Digital that “nothing should be more important than the safety and well-being of our children.”
“Yet the soft crime policies championed by radical Governor Gavin Newsom, woke DA George Gascón and California Democrats have put our state’s youngest and most vulnerable in danger. reprehensible,” she continued.
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Dordulian said some policies endorsed by Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom allowed for shorter sentences for those convicted.
“With Newsom, they’ve passed a lot of legislation where they’re allowing new sentences, they’re allowing people back, and there’s an effort to spend less time in prison,” Dordulian said.
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California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom speaks during a bill signing ceremony on February 9, 2022.
(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
“That’s been the impetus for the last five years: getting people out of prison much sooner than their sentences.”
A spokesperson for the governor’s office told Fox News Digital Tuesday that “there appears to be a lack of understanding of the role of the state versus the role of local prosecutors and judges.”