SAN BERNARDINO • On a swift 4-0 vote, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors called on staff Tuesday to draft an ordinance that bans sex offenders in unincorporated areas from participating in Halloween.
If the ordinance advances, registered sex offenders could be barred from decorating their homes for Halloween, hosting a haunted house, handing out candy or turning on their porch lights during trick-or-treating hours, from 5 p.m. to midnight on Oct. 31.
They could also be prohibited from going to parties outside their homes and answering their doors for anyone other than law enforcement on Halloween night.
Fourth District Supervisor Gary Ovitt, who represents Chino and Montclair, suggested the new ban on the heels of similar restrictions imposed by other local governments, including the cities of Temecula and Ontario and Riverside County.
"This county ordinance constitutes a common sense approach to protecting our children," Ovitt said in a statement. "Parents should not need to worry that their child, while 'trick-or-treating' might end up on the front porch of a sexual predator."
The other three supervisors present at Tuesday's meeting expressed their support for the idea, with 2nd District Supervisor Janice Rutherford absent.
In another preventative effort, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has already been running "Operation Boo," where parole agents run compliance checks on known sex offenders to make sure they're staying away from trick-or-treaters.
Natasha Lindstrom may be reached at (760) 951-6232 or at NLindstrom@VVDailyPress.com.
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