If that family looks on the Sex Offenders Registry, which is online under Megan's Law, they will see a photo of you, and it will say` < I don't know whether that's true or not. It will say, 'Offences committed on an under-14-year-old child.' See, OK, well, um` See, OK, well, um` I` I looked at it myself. When`? How recently did you look? Because` Last week. I have an app on my phone. There's an app called Offender Locator. OK. Yep, that's me. SOMBRE MUSIC For several months, I'd been spending time in the twilight world of Los Angeles' paroled sex offenders. REPORTER: Take a look at him. According to the most recent update on the registered sex offender site, he's 5'11" with brown hair and blue eyes. The serious nature of their crimes has placed them outside normal society and controlled by some of the most restrictive legislation in America. REPORTER: Shock, outrage. 33-year-old Amy Beck spent months having sexual relations with a 14-year-old boy. < So you have to wear that all the time? Yeah. I mean, oh, you can cut it off, but you would go to jail. State parole! I was curious about the lives and mentality of these modern-day pariahs. Do you ever worry that having done that once that you could do it again? That that might still be in you in some way? No. No. Why? No. Why? Cos it's not in me. The danger they present to the public and the fraught question of when, if ever, a sex offender deserves a second chance. SOMBRE ELECTRONIC MUSIC (KNOCKS GENTLY) Hello, there. Hello, there. Hi. How are you? > You must be Craig. You must be Craig. I am. Louis. Louis. Louis, nice to meet you. Louis. Louis, nice to meet you. Nice to meet you too. I was with Craig Prentice. Craig is a manager at Pathways, a private housing company that provides accommodation for registered sex offenders, often called 290s. We were about to meet a new arrival. I'll meet you formally. My name is Craig. Nice to meet you,... I'll meet you formally. My name is Craig. Nice to meet you,... William. ...William. So, I'm just gonna take a quick seat right here. So I'll get you logged in. What's your first name? So I'll get you logged in. What's your first name? William. Uh, the most important thing that I can tell you is to think and` and to exist compliantly. If there's any questions you` you want me to answer, you can go ahead and fire away. What about clothes and stuff, or...? What about clothes and stuff, or...? You need clothes? What about clothes and stuff, or...? You need clothes? Yes, sir. You don't have friends or family to help you right now? > Um, I been out here` I'm` I'm out here by myself. OK, no problem. I'll put together a roll of toilet paper, a razor and stuff like that so you can get cleaned up. Our job is to make your landing as soft as possible. We don't want you to feel like you're coming down on` on top of cement. We want you to feel like you're coming down, and you got a little cushion. We've been here. < We're in place to accept you guys, to support you guys < and to give you guys the best chance of getting your life back in society. So you were in jail last night? Yes, sir. > You got out this morning? You got out this morning? This morning. > You got out this morning? This morning. > How do you feel? I feel good. I'm out again. I'm` I'm on the street again. I'm free again. I feel good. I'm out again. I'm` I'm on the street again. I'm free again. Um, and are you a 290? Yes, sir. > Yes, sir. > For what? Uh, they caught me pissing in public, and they just wrote it up like that. Is that a charge that's called indecent exposure? Yes, indecent exposure. > Yes, indecent exposure. > Oh, OK. OK. All right, we appreciate it. Thanks a lot, William. Good luck. When William said that he'd been put on the register for urinating publicly, Do you suppose that's true? If it's true, it's probably true because it happened separately for what he's currently on parole for. In my experience, I'm quite certain that there's more to his story than just that. When you get the details on these guys, do they tell you what they, uh` what their... Some do. Some do. ...offences are? If I'm concerned, I just ask the, uh, Department of Parole, 'What is this guy's issues? What was he convicted of? What are his hot and colds? 'What do we need to look out for? What are his triggers?' What are hot and colds? What are hot and colds? Hot and colds are things that occur < that affect the personality of a person to go up and down. Now, I know you have your own offence history. Now, I know you have your own offence history. Yes, I do. > And` And that's something you're happy to go into or willing to go into at some point with us. Yes, we'll cover all of that. Absolutely. So... that's something that we can mark in our` in our, uh, appointment book that will be a` a future sit-down for us. We will` We will reveal what we reveal. SOMBRE ELECTRONIC MUSIC Under California law, sex offenders on parole from prison can't live near places where children gather, and so much of Pathway's housing is in clusters away from schools and parks. Craig's two hostels are in Torrance. They're a way station for 290s whose crimes range from indecent exposure to rape and child molestation. Here they lead monitored lives. Under Megan's Law, they're listed on a public database. They're also tracked by GPS and subject to strict curfews. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. James? Yes. Yes. How are you doing? Can we look at the house rules? Cos they're posted on the door. That's kind of interesting. READS: No women. There is zero tolerance on this subject. No wives. No exceptions. When you came out of prison, how did you end up here? I cannot live with my mom. I cannot live with my grandma at their residence at that time because of the` Too close to schools, basically. Are you a 290? Yeah. 290 right here, yeah. You can see you've got the leg charger here. Plug it in. You have to charge an hour, and it turns` the light turns green. Lead on. Most 290s don't talk about their crimes, but there are exceptions. One was Randy Wickham. You have an offence history,... You have an offence history,... Yes. You have an offence history,... Yes. ...which is what? Um, indecent exposure. Um, I would, uh, expose myself to women and, um, you know, just... I been` I` I've been doing it since I was 9 years old. How many stretches did you do inside? Um, 15 new charges and 8 parole violations, about, approximately. < 15 separate new charges? Mm-hm. Indecent exposure. Mm-hm. Indecent exposure. It's an uncontrollable urge to do this? Well... (SIGHS) pretty much. It's, uh... I` I get up in the morning, and I say to myself, 'OK, I'm gonna go from point A to point B, and I'm not gonna have any incidents,' or just, 'I'm not going to do this today. I've set my mind to it.' But what happens is, um, I see a pretty woman that attracts me for some reason or other ` her face, usually ` and, um... I, um... I detour, you know, and, um` and at that point it's like tunnel vision. I don't see to the left or the right. I just see that pretty face, you know, and I want the attention. You know, I wanna be noticed. It's, like, 'I exist,' you know? Do you feel as though those restrictions that are placed on you, um, help` help you to, kind of, keep to the straight and narrow? The only way I can respond to that is if I'm being forced to do something, OK, rather than doing it because I know it's best for me and... best for public safety and welfare, that's one thing. But if someone else is placing restrictions on me ` so many of these restrictions that it becomes almost unbearable ` I feel inhuman. I feel like an animal. In your whole adult life, uh, what's the longest you've been outside of either prison or jail or a mental hospital? Oh,... I think... three and a half years when I was 22 years old. Uh, I` I don't wanna be a dirty old man any more doing this kind of stuff, you know? It's just, um, I don't wanna go back to prison any more. I don't wanna waste my life. It's already been wasted enough. 1 TENSE MUSIC SPARKS CRACKLE JOINTS CRACK (SIGHS) SOFT MUSIC BEEPING, INDISTINCT ANNOUNCEMENT LOUD CLATTERING LOUD CLATTERING CAR ALARM CHIRPS ENGINE STARTS TYRES SKID TENSE MUSIC DRUM MUSIC WHISTLING BRASS BAND PLAYS A short walk from the Pathways hostels, in Harbor Gateway, it was a day of celebration. The area's first park was opening, built with the primary purpose of driving out sex offenders. Under Jessica's Law, all 290s, even those not on parole, are supposed to live more than half a mile from any park. In theory, the hostels would now be illegal. BRASS BAND FLOURISHES Today is finally here, and we get to give the Gateway what they deserve and what our children deserve ` their first pocket park in this area. And let me tell you this may be the smallest park in the city of Los Angeles but is the most powerful park in the city of Los Angeles! but is the most powerful park in the city of Los Angeles! PEOPLE CHEER, WHISTLE One of the proponents of the idea was LA City Councilman Joe Buscaino. I heard you describe the park as the smallest and yet the most powerful park in the city. Explain that. Powerful because it goes hand in hand with, um, the high concentration of registered sex offenders, without a doubt. And we have proven today we can accomplish a great deal, and we're just getting warmed up, Louis. (LAUGHS) We're just getting warmed up. < All right, folks, let's head on over for the ribbon cutting. But there was a wrinkle in the plan. A county judge had ruled Jessica's Law was in fact unconstitutional. PEOPLE SING 'THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER' For now, the park would have no legal effect. Residents had vowed to fight on. REFLECTIVE MUSIC Those sex offenders who can afford it can find homes outside of the hostels in housing away from schools and approved by parole. REPORTER: Shock, outrage. Burbank PD confirms 33-year-old Amy Beck, a social science teacher at David Starr Jordan Middle School, spent months having sexual relations with a 14-year-old boy last year. A grown woman, young child ` it doesn't make much sense. WOMAN: What do you think? > WOMAN: What do you think? > Oh, that's not good. Amy Beck served a year in prison for unlawful sexual intercourse with an underage boy. She was now on parole, listed on the Megan's Law database and subject to strict rules about where she could and couldn't go. Hi, Amy. Hi. Hi. Louis. Hi. Louis. Nice to meet you. Well, I baked a crumb cake, because I figured it was early, and you guys would be hungry. < That was very nice of you. < That was very nice of you. I haven't had breakfast. How long have you been on parole? How long have you been on parole? Two years and a month, so I have 11 months left. < Have you got used to it? < Have you got used to it? A little bit, yeah. < Have you got used to it? A little bit, yeah. < In what way? I think at first, uh, I was very paranoid about doing something wrong, and now I kind of know what's OK and what's not. I feel com` more comfortable. What is the hardest part of, uh, what you're going through now? What is the hardest part of, uh, what you're going through now? Uh, being without my children. WHISPERS: Yeah. (SNIFFS) OK. Well, I can't have any photographs of the kids. Well, I can't have any photographs of the kids. Why can't you have them? It's one of the conditions. You're not allowed to have anything that relates to children. So I have one picture. I'm allowed to have one picture of them. That's it. How old are they now? How old are they now? Um, the oldest is 14, and then the middle boy is 9, and the baby is 7. So at the moment you have no contact with them. Is that correct? Not even on the phone? No, not even on the phone. No, not even on the phone. Um, can you write to them? No, um, I'm not allowed to write to them. Can you talk a little about your offence and how it happened? Um,... I got to know this family really well, and they would help me with the kids, and they were wonderful people. They were almost like my own family, in a sense. And then things got strange with this boy and myself, and we ended up having this affair for 6 months. And you were a teacher? < His teacher. < His teacher. And you were his teacher. Is that right? I was his teacher, mm-hm. I'm so glad it's done, because at the time, I thought, 'Oh my gosh, you know, what am I gonna do now? 'How am I supposed to end it with him? And what am I`? What about my husband and the kids and...?' It was sort of, like, 'Well, you know, why` why did I do this?' Had you had an attraction to, um, kind of inappropriately young males in` in the past? No. I never had any attraction to anyone else. Um,... I think it was more that as we` as I got to know them and the family and him in particular, um, I think that's where I was wanting someone to love me. And my husband, who` I'm not blaming him at all, but um, you know, he had a very demanding job, was never around, and,... um, I think that there's so much to it that it would be hard to put it into a nutshell for you, but` At the time, how did you justify it to yourself? I think I justified it by saying that I loved him, and he loved me. That's how. That's how. Do you think the boy was damaged by what happened? He` Well, I'm sure he was, to an extent. I put him into an adult world and an adult situation. You know, he was cheating on a woman that was married with children. That's probably` That's hard even for a man... (CHUCKLES) to deal with. Society has an understandable fear of sex offenders,... < Right. < Right. ...so you tell me why you feel, um, sex offenders shouldn't be monitored for life or put on a register or prevented from seeing their children and so on. I just feel like it's been blanketed. We're all sort of blanketed into this one heinous, hated group, you know. < And they just keep slapping on more and more of these conditions. I mean, I've often said if they want to do this law or that law, they should just leave us in prison for the rest of our lives, I mean, cos it` it isn't a life. You can't release someone from prison and then set them up for failure. REFLECTIVE MUSIC I'd been spending more time at Pathways with Craig, trying to get a sense of his role in managing the offenders who live there. Lucy, come. Have a seat in here, please. OK, so, I just noticed, a few minutes ago, two people walking out, one of which I did not recognise. But when I just see someone come and go, I get very suspicious, so I'm gonna go over and find out some answers if I can. Jimmy, you here? Jimmy, you here? MAN YELLS I was over here just, kind of, talking and waiting for a few text messages, and I saw someone walk out with you that I didn't recognise. But he's not a Pathways resident. At this point, what I do is I go and record the information. What is your suspicion? My suspicion is someone came over and dropped off methamphetamine. My suspicion is someone came over and dropped off methamphetamine. Is Jimmy known to have a meth issue? Oh yes. That's one of the reasons that he just went into custody... earlier this month for a week. How are you doing? How are you doing? All right. How are you doing? All right. We haven't met on camera. I'm Louis. I'm Jimmy. I'm Jimmy. Jimmy. Now, I` I noticed that Craig came and talked to you about a possibly unauthorised visitor. OK. OK. What was that about? I have no idea. He's a` He's a friend, a friend of mine. He, uh, came by to tell me about some work. So there was an innocent explanation for the visit, in other words? Oh, sure, absolutely. If you don't believe me, ask Craig. Oh, sure, absolutely. If you don't believe me, ask Craig. Was part of your offence history`? Was there a background of substance abuse that was maybe sending you astray a little bit? No, it had nothing to do with my crimes, no. Anger. Anger. I would be intrigued to know, um, what it was you did. Yeah, well, I would really rather not go into that, you know, so... You` You have the right say` you know, you don't disclose what your offence was. It's in the nature of these crimes to be on the public record. Sure. > Sure. > I'd be curious to know how you would feel about me looking up... Man, if you wanna go and do that, you are welcome. That's your right. Man, if you wanna go and do that, you are welcome. That's your right. How would you feel about that? About you doing it? About you doing it? < Mm-hm. About you doing it? < Mm-hm. It wouldn't make no difference. You've got that right. You've got that right. Would that make you more inclined to say what you did, out of interest? I'll tell you what ` > between now and the next time I see you, I'll give it some thought. between now and the next time I see you, I'll give it some thought. Give it some thought. Since first learning that Craig was himself a sex offender, I'd been wondering how it affected his relationship with the Pathways tenants. You feel it's an advantage, having gone through what you've gone through, in terms of the work that you do? Oh, most definitely. The easy way to say it is you can't con a con. And every` everywhere that I go, there's someone trying to run some type of game of some` some type or, um, hustle this, hustle that, hustle someone, and I see all of these things coming from a distance, from a long ways off. When you say you can't con a con, you mean one time you would have been that con? No, what that statement really means is that dealing with my experiences and dealing with my work, I deal with people that` they aren't done being deceivers. I mean, well, you` you having had, um, an offence history, and a time when you were doing, I'm assuming, bad things, maybe terrible things ` that` that there was time when you were a deceiver, when you were, um, someone who... did dreadful things that you didn't want brought to light. Um... I'm not sure how to respond` Was there a question? I mean, were you at one time a deceiver? That's what I'm asking. Yes. But back to the meaning` intended meaning of 'if you can't con a` con a con' is that all of these people that come in here have a different agenda. I can go to parole and say, 'You need to keep a watch on this guy,' and when they ask me why, and I tell 'em, they say, 'Thank you. Duly noted.' My job` My first priority is to be an extension of the eyes and the ears of parole. A little later, I was heading back to see Randy Wickham. How are you doing? How are you doing? Well. I'd been struck by his apparent openness about his offence history. I had some more questions. So, if we were in a park, let's say, what would be your victim profile? So, if we were in a park, let's say, what would be your victim profile? About 40, 45 years old. Um,... um,... kind of motherly-looking. I would be laying down on the grass or over by the tennis courts. When you do it, are you in a state of arousal? Uh, yes, about` about 80% of the time. < Your penis is erect? Um, or beginning to be. What's the commonest reaction? Um,... I think it's concern. < Fear? < Fear? No. Concern. Concern, like... The look in their eyes indicates me it's concern. It's definitely not fear. < Concern for what? < Concern for what? Uh, concern for me. I had one woman tell me, you know, 'Be careful. There are police in the area. I don't wanna see you get arrested.' You know, um` Can I just say, though, like, I'm not` I'm not a woman, and so in a sense I have less to be afraid of, physically, but even I would find it, I think, upsetting. I would feel concern for myself, not for you. I think the standard impression of exhibitionists is someone that jumps out behind a bush or a tree with a trench coat and tries to surprise someone ` aha ` and shock them. Um, when I do it, I want to retain their attention for as long as possible. I don't want them to run away in fear. I wanna be noticed, maybe talked to. And in some cases, they talk to me. And in some cases, they talk to me. I think you're labouring under a little of a self-deception to do with the impact that you have on the people you expose yourself to. It could be it's` Maybe it's, um, like, a handful of times, um, women have just approached me, just come right up to me while I was doing this. There's no fear there. If you took your trousers and pants down right now, in front of us, the crew and the camera, would that not feel quite weird to you? would that not feel quite weird to you? Yeah. Yeah. < It would be very shocking, wouldn't it? I would never do that. I would never do that. < And began masturbating? Yeah, but I wouldn't do that. I mean, I see what you're saying, but you mean in front of men? (CHUCKLES) Um... But in a way, there's really no difference. But in a way, there's really no difference. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I can see what you're saying. It makes sense. SOMBRE ELECTRONIC MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUES 1 I was with parole agent Byron Bleane. We were on Skid Row in downtown LA ` a gathering spot for the city's destitute. Coming through, guys. Coming through! MAN: Camera crew. MAN: Camera crew. Coming through! MAN: Camera crew. Coming through! Media, media. Make way, make way. Agent Bleane was making the rounds of some of the homeless sex offenders under his supervision. Oh my gosh. > We got lucky. We got lucky. < You see him? We got lucky. < You see him? He's right there. CALLS: Willy! Just stay right there! How have you been? You haven't come in this week. How come? How have you been? You haven't come in this week. How come? Uh, because you told me to, uh... No, I said` I said when I saw you to come in Monday. You didn't come in at all this week yet. Cos I gotta get you in the class. You're gonna start the STAR programme on November the 18th. I have a date. Agent Bleane? Agent Bleane? Yes. > Agent Bleane? Yes. > How`? How long have you known Willy? A long time. < How long? < How long? We've been` This is the second term that Willy's done on parole. I had him a long time on the first term. He got` He discharged that number, and within eight months, a year, he was back in prison again. What was your offence? < Really? < Really? Yeah. The rules on where sex offenders can live mean that many can't find housing and end up homeless. I was curious for Agent Bleane's view of the law. Do you feel that the residency restrictions are a` are a helpful provision` legal provision? The studies have shown that the residency restrictions really have no effect. Um, some of the, um, quirkiness about the laws` If your house is beside a school or a park, and it's not 2000ft, you have to move away. You're a transient, and you live in a van, and you move the van around the area, unless they have restriction of you being within 100yd of the school or park, you could park just up the street, and at that point, who becomes possibly more dangerous? For me, I've got to know some of these guys in the hostels and so forth, and` and` you know, one or two of them, I have started to,... um, I guess, like a little bit, and at the same time, I'm also aware that they've done something terrible, and I` I go back and forth between thinking they deserve a second chance and then feeling as though you could never really trust someone like that again. That's the dilemma. Cos you never truly know what they're thinking. REFLECTIVE MUSIC Up in the Hollywood Hills, I had a lead on a former tenant of Pathways, now homeless, living in a van. He'd been out of prison a year and a half but repeatedly returned to jail for parole violations. He'd agreed to talk to me under an assumed name. How you doing? How you doing? Good afternoon. How you doing? Good afternoon. Louis. Billy. Billy. This is your van? This is your home, as it were? This is my Hollywood mansion. You live in here at the moment? You live in the van? Is that right? You live in the van? Is that right? I sleep in here when I don't have anywhere else to go. At what point did you wind up at the facility in Torrance, the sex offenders' facility there? That's gonna have to be, like, six violations down the line, Louis. Let me tell you about the third or fourth. I think that had to do with` There's 10 violations? > There's 10 violations? > Yeah. There's 10 violations? > Yeah. We don't need to do all of them. > There's 11. There's 11. 11. So we don't need to do every one. > Well, Louis this is something to consider, because I've been returned to custody. My liberty is at stake over this situation right here, and when I go back to jail, it's 30 days at a time, and people like you might not care, cos he's a sex offender. But look, I already did my time, bro. < All right, so the third and fourth time that I was returned to custody, it was for non-criminal conduct. I went to the beach. And you didn't realise that you weren't supposed to go to the beach? And you didn't realise that you weren't supposed to go to the beach? I mean, what would you say? Is the`? Is the beach a place where children conjugate? I don't know. Is the forest? Is, uh, McDonald's? Is the supermarket? You tell me. How am I supposed to know? I asked him to give me a list of the places I can't go. He said, 'I can't do that man. You just have to know.' What are these? Unwritten rules? Come on, man. What do I have to go through? And this is all because I'm a 290 registrant on parole. What did you get convicted of? What did you get convicted of? < Let's go for a walk. I'll show you what I do when I'm up here. All right. Do you wanna talk about your offense history? All right. Do you wanna talk about your offense history? Nope. You come up here quite a bit? You come up here quite a bit? Mm-hm. How many pull-ups can you do in a row? How many pull-ups can you do in a row? Maybe five. I think I could do, like, 20. Wanna have a contest? I mean, how much can you talk about what you did? I mean, how much can you talk about what you did? That's what I'm telling you, Louis ` why hang out with a bunch of sex offenders in Torrance that are up to no good when I could hang out up here by myself? (PANTS) (EXHALES) My hands are too sweaty. How many did you make that? How many did you make that? 14. If she would have been 14, I wouldn't have gone to prison. I would have got a misdemeanour. So if she would have been six months older, then... (SIGHS) I wouldn't have been on parole. I wouldn't be wearing a GPS monitor. You met her at a party. That's right. We were drinking. (EXHALES) We just got too drunk, man. I kissed. We kissed. I didn't even know her. It's just one of those things where you sit on the couch together. An attractive girl. It's not that I was perverted and attracted to pre-pubescent girls. I wasn't out there looking for a minor to molest. I just wanted a girl I could drink with. She didn't look like she was 13. At the trial, did the girl say she'd been taken advantage of in any way? Whoa, just kind of jumped ship on me there, huh. We were talking about something else, and you went right back into the trial. (EXHALES) What is it you're so curious about that you wanna get on camera? You wanna talk about an issue of force? Uh, I hadn't heard anything about an issue of force. Uh, I hadn't heard anything about an issue of force. Why are you reverting back to that` that line of questioning? that line of questioning? Uh, well, it seemed to me that in the narrative, everything had been accounted for, the sequence of events, except for her attitude to the` to the crime. Mm. OK. If that's what you wanna talk about,... nice doing business with you. What about the future? My life revolves around staying out of jail. That's my main concern. Staying out jail, staying clean, staying away from... all those sex offenders that they tried to stick me with in Torrance. I wanna be around the people I wanna be around. I wanna explore my potential. I wanna be able to spread my wings and see if I could fly where I wanna fly. REFLECTIVE MUSIC Back in South LA, and I was heading to Pathways. < Go get your shit! Am I being filmed? Am I being filmed? Walk over here. Yeah, you're being filmed. Walk over and get your shit right now. You don't have time to interview me now. You don't have time to interview me now. Walk over and get your shit. I'd arrived to find Craig in the process of evicting Jimmy. Open the goddamned door. Shut your mouth, please! Don't yell at me! Don't yell at me! I'm not yelling. You wanna hear it? Yeah, let me hear yelling. Yeah, let me hear yelling. No, you shut your mouth now! Now I'm yelling at you! You said, 'Open the door.' Give me the key. Give me the key. Back off. Give me this. Give me it. Give me the key. Give me the key. Back off. Give me this. Give me it. Did you see that? Did you see that? You're fucking drunk! You smell like you drank this morning! Get 911. Call 911. Craig, can we have a quick`? Craig, can we have a quick`? No, you cannot have a quick chat with me! You were seen by parole drunk off your ass last night! You wouldn't wake up. You're still not getting it. Call 911. Get the fucking police over here. < Craig, you OK? < Craig, you OK? I am not gonna have a conversation right now. You don't have a chance at talking to me. Stop. Do you know what you're being thrown out for? Do you know what you're being thrown out for? Um, well, I` I have an idea. So are we ready to talk? Do you wanna go down to the sidewalk? So are we ready to talk? Do you wanna go down to the sidewalk? Well, I don't wanna escalate this. You're still manipulating, Jimmy. Now get your stuff and take it` Where's your stuff going? Where do you want it? Where do you want it? This is an emergency. I need the Los Angeles PD, Harbor Division. We're gonna try this again. Can you zip it? You're just a renter that's gone today. OK? You need to listen. I don't need to hear shit that you've got to say. DOOR SLAMS You seemed quite angry. Mm, I` Actually, what I was was putting my foot down. Remember, I know what` And you even seemed annoyed with me at one point. > And you even seemed annoyed with me at one point. > I wasn't annoyed. I was focused. That was a side of you we hadn't seen before. Actually, it's a side of me that I keep in my, uh, Felix magic bag of tricks. So what I was trying to was not only put my foot down and show authority but to make him know that the deal is done, OK? Where does he go now? Where does he go now? Well, he's` he's gonna go, um,... to wherever he makes contact with law enforcement, and they're going to put him into custody. Jimmy has a conviction for rape... Jimmy has a conviction for rape... Yes, he does. Jimmy has a conviction for rape... Yes, he does. ...in Vancouver in 1990. < Older case. < Older case. Yes, an older case. You knew that. < Yes. < Yes. Is there a little element of, uh, fear or worry that` that a convicted rapist is now homeless on the streets? Uh, no more so than when he was housed. He had no bars and` and anything to inhibit him from leaving. He had supervision. He had you. He had people like you and Ralph and others keeping an eye on him > and making sure he was where he was supposed to be. Right, well, if he was going to commit a crime, it would have been committed long before he ran into these other problems. He's no more of a threat being out of his house than he is being in this house. Where do you think he is now? Where do you think he is now? I think he's going to get more alcohol and methamphetamine. He doesn't care right now. This is someone that's already lost everything in their life over and over again. This is... replaceable. On a street corner close by, I caught up with Jimmy. What`? So what's gonna happen now? OK, so what's gonna happen now ` well, look there. Here's a black and white as we speak. < You think they're out to get you? < You think they're out to get you? Oh, I'm absolutely certain. You guys were there when he called the police, were you not? They've repeatedly said that you were getting high on meth. They've repeatedly said that you were getting high on meth. No, no, no, I have in the past. > I've already told you guys that. I've already told` I've already told you guys that. I've already told` At the facility? Yeah. No, not` not` Well, yeah, well, it's one of the reasons I went to jail before. Do you remember we spoke before, and you said, um, you wouldn't tell me what your sex offence was, but I was welcome to look it up? but I was welcome to look it up? Yeah. > but I was welcome to look it up? Yeah. > And so I looked it up. And? > And? > And it said that you committed a rape in Vancouver in 1990. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Is that true? That's what happened there. It was my girlfriend. I'm not what we call a tree-jumper. I don't jump out of trees and attack women physically and hold 'em down and all that. No, no, no. This was a thing that happened with my girlfriend that got out of hand. What were you doing`? If you don't mind my asking, what were you doing raping your girlfriend? Well,... (SIGHS) that's an important question. All right, I did promise. What was I doing raping my girlfriend? Well, it was wrong. I'm not gonna substantiate any kind of, you know, light punishment on myself in my own mind to you, Louis ` uh, let me see, to anyone. What I did was wrong. It was wrong morally. It was wrong against humanity. It was wrong legally. < Have you have any other sex offences? < Have you have any other sex offences? No. Well, I` Yes. You read` Are you gonna`? You're gonna sit there and make me tell you what you've already read? Come on, Louis. Don't be like that, man. I know you` How much did you read? All of it? Did you read it all? How much do you know? Do you already know the answer to what I'm about to say? < No. < No. You don't? Well, I'm gonna believe you. Yeah, there is. There's one other, and it was a` this one was with the mother of my daughter. Again, I attempted... (MUMBLES) I couldn't` But you know what? (SIGHS) I did what's called oral copulation. Since then? No. No, I haven't` I haven't hurt nobody. I hurt nobody. I understand you were beaten a lot, growing up. Yeah, can we not get into that? Yeah, can we not get into that? By your dad? Yeah, can we not get into that? By your dad? Is it just curiosity on your part? Yeah, I had a troubled upbringing. That` That` Yeah, you could say that. Uh, the` the polite word is 'dysfunctional'. That's the polite word. I had an extremely dysfunctional upbringing. < How? I had a` I had a dad that was a piece of shit, and I had a mom that was an angel. OK, you do the math. And, you know, cos, like, right between the two, you're getting hit on this side of your face, and you're getting stroked on this side. (SOBS) Sooner or later, you don't know which one's which. Sooner or later, you don't care which one's which. I wanna die so fucking bad. Why? Because I'm tired, man. I'm tired of making decisions. I'm tired of not knowing which one's a stroke and which one's a slap. (SIGHS RAGGEDLY) REFLECTIVE MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUES It was Halloween. OK, it's just gonna be on the left. 1665 in the rear. Under California State law, all paroled sex offenders were required to remain in their homes all night with no decorations and away from trick-or-treating children. State parole! State parole! DOG BARKS Across Los Angeles, parole agents were taking part in what they were calling Operation Boo, among them Agents Escobar and Rodriguez. OK, where to now? OK, where to now? Next door. I mean, the next block. State parole! If you find that they're not in compliance ` they've got a pumpkin out or, um, some Halloween decorations ` what's the` what's the next move? < Take 'em into custody. < Take 'em into custody. You would take them there and then? < Take 'em into custody. You would take them there and then? < Custody, yeah. When you're in there, do you look for candy? Yeah, we do a general search of the area. If you some found candy inside the... > Well, there's a difference. If we found a couple of pieces of candy, that's not a big deal. If we found, like, a bowl by the door, that obviously they're giving out, uh, candy for trick-or-treaters, then it's a different story. How are you doing, Craig? Nice to meet you. How are you doing, Craig? Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. Sauce on my hands. We're just gonna do a check on some of the clients that we got here. We're just gonna do a check on some of the clients that we got here. Anything that you need, sir. Gomez! (KNOCKS) TENSE MUSIC Parole! How many people we got here? Two? Where's the other guy at? Two? Where's the other guy at? How's it going, Randy? OK. OK. You're not allowed out on the porch? Well, I don't think so. It's Halloween. I don't wanna take a chance. You think, uh, they'd take you away? You think, uh, they'd take you away? Yes, that's what I'm saying. You think, uh, they'd take you away? Yes, that's what I'm saying. Until what time? I think it's until sunup tomorrow. When the sun comes up ` that's... my best guess. I'm pretty sure. There is this fear that gets passed around that, um, sex offenders might prey on kids around Halloween, but do you think that's factual? Do you think the public is right to be afraid of that? You know, in my personal opinion,... it, kind of, goes to one of those things ` if` if somebody's really that ill in their head, and you put something in front of 'em, they're gonna take it. It's like putting` putting candy in front of a kid, you know? And the ones who are predators, we don't wanna give 'em that temptation. CAR ENGINES RUMBLE I was making another visit to Amy Beck. Her parole agent was doing a monthly house check. Hi! Hi! Hi, Amy. How are you? CHUCKLES: I'm good. CHUCKLES: I'm good. Anyone home? No. No. Can you show me around the house real fast? Here's the key closet. Here's the key closet. OK. Can I quickly ask, um, what you're doing? > I'm going through the apartment to see if there's anything that shouldn't be there ` um, any kind of things that might violate her conditions of parole. Um, any` She has a condition of no contact with children, so any children's stuff or` or anyone else even being here. So we have to go through it. And that's it. And that's it. Yeah. You said that you have 22 parolees that you keep an eye on. < Right. < Right. And` And, uh, how many of them are women? One. One. (LAUGHS) One. (LAUGHS) Just Amy, yes. Poor lady. Are`? Are you allowed to express a personal opinion? < Yes. < Yes. So in your personal opinion, you've got to know Amy a little bit. Could you say that you like Amy? I do. I do. You do? > I do. You do? > Yes. She's very cooperative. She's very open ` um, more so than, you know, just telling me about how her parole is. You know, she tells me about her family and how anxious she is about reuniting with her children. What strikes me about that is that it's also punishing the kids. I agree, because it` not only... did her crime victimise... her victim but her children now too, since they can't` they don't have a mother for a few years. Looking at Amy, um, it seems to me she's sort of been lumped in with... uh, people, some of whom are dangerous and some of whom not as dangerous. Uh, on a personal level,... (CLEARS THROAT) whenever I get a sex offender... I mean, I'm not attacking you, Amy, but she does have one, you know` one conviction. It doesn't mean she didn't do anything before that. Um, I'm just not one to take chances. I think this is a good system. Yes, I think anyone that does a` a` an offence involving sex, yes, they should all be categorised up there at the top along with murderers. Can you look her at say why she` she could still be dangerous? < Well... < Well... Um,... I` I could. Yeah. Yeah. I don't think` Again, I don't think she is, but... anybody can be dangerous, even someone that hasn't done what she's done. < I understand that. I do. Would you trust Amy around children? > Would you trust Amy around children? > I would... Knowing... her history, I would not trust Amy around my 14`year-old son, anyone's 14-year-old son. No. Why give it a second chance? In about six months' time, Amy will be off parole, and she will get a second chance, isn't that right? Yes. And at that point, would it be appropriate for you to trust her around your 14-year-old son? No. It doesn't mean she will not do it again. I understand. What are you thinking? > What are you thinking? > (SOBS) Just I am... I don't know how to be in society. (SOBS) Am I supposed to tell people, if they have kids, you know, that I did this thing so they're aware and they can choose as a mom, you know? 'I don't want you to come to my house,' or... (SNIFFS) I feel like I should keep myself away from people with families. It is heart-wrenching, because I'm a mother as well, and` and, you know, to know that` to have that... that word, 'sex offender', lingering on your head for the rest of your life is` is gotta be extremely rough. Um, I would only hope that she` She's doing great, and she's never violated. She's been cooperative to an extreme that is rare. I think she's` If she continues on that goal, you know, keeps working, I think she'll` I think she'll be fine. I just want my kids back. (LAUGHS WEAKLY) I don't really care about anybody else's kids, so... (SNIFFS) Yeah. In 6 months' time, Amy would be off parole. It would be up to the courts to decide whether she could see her children. SOMBRE ELECTRONIC MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUES I was back with Randy. Since our last visit, I'd heard that he'd been going through a slump. So you've been having certain... thoughts? Yeah. Um,... I've had these thoughts, actually, for about 20 years, and one time I acted on them while I was in prison. I, um` I tried` I tied, um, cord` um, fibre cord around my, uh, testicles and my penis, and, um, I figured that` that... it would... have to be amputated. It's one way of... of actually putting a stop to all this madness, you know, and... and doing something right for myself and for others. And so more and more I've been thinking of an ultimate solution to all this, which is a full, total castration. Do you know of any clinical or scientific evidence that castration would decrease the urges? Well, I` I know` No. Um, no, I don't. But I don't know that` that it wouldn't. Right. But it's a radical step, isn't it? < It is a radical step. < It is a radical step. It's a very big step to take. What I do know is if I don't have sex organs to expose, um, and I` It always starts out with my getting aroused and touching myself. If there's nothing there to touch, my mind is gonna say, 'What am I doing? I don't have... I'm` I'm not a sexual being any more. Why`? Why am I gonna...?' You know, it wouldn't make sense that I would reoffend. You know, it wouldn't make sense that I would reoffend. What about chemical castration? No, I've tried that. Depo-Provera, Lupron ` those are the two most popular drugs. I found that after... the first three months, four months, um, the urges come back, and I'm` even when I'm on a high dose of that, um, I'm able to masturbate again and fantasising it. Why has this come up now? The last month, it's become so intense ` masturbating constantly, fantasising about women that I've seen during the day and going home and masturbating. And, um... And I` I just... I` I see myself going down that spiral again, getting out of control. I get so... emotional when I start thinking about all this. It's, like, I wanna do what I think is right, but it's, like, so many avenues are closed to me, because I don't have the funds to do this, you know? But I feel... It may have to come to my doing it myself if I can't get the help. But one way or another, I feel it has to be done. SOMBRE PIANO MUSIC Those sex offenders who successfully make it off parole have their ankle monitors removed, though under Californian law, they remain listed on the web for life. Every birthday and whenever they move address they have to register with local police. This is Craig's position. On our first day together, he'd agreed to discuss his offence history. That time had come. Is it correct that... some of your offences involved your children? The only offences that I have involve my children. There` There were and have been no other people involved. What age were they when this was going on? Uh, roughly 10 years old. So what was it`? Was there something in you? Why do you think... you did that? I think I did that because of... my wi` this may or may not play well, but because my wife believed I was having an affair. And in my bent, reactionary way from not getting to... have my sexual satisfaction ` because she was the one that was having the affair, I found out later ` I reacted by saying, in my unrational... fogged, cocained mind that, 'These are my kids, they came into this world through me, 'and I'm going to... 'bring a wrath of` of` crush upon you by... doing something you don't think I would ever do.' Very twisted, but those were the thought processes. Did you think at the time it was going to hurt them? I really don't know. I... You didn't care. You didn't care. I'm not sure. Unfortunately, the level of trust that my sons gave me was... if I said stand on their head, they'd do it, cos they trusted me. I abused that trust. Very strange to` to talk about it with you, because I feel we've got to know you a little bit and` and` and enjoyed being with you, and at the same time, what we're talking about is what's viewed by most people as the most unforgiveable act imaginable. Yep. Well, we're talking bottom-of-the-barrel,... scum-of-the-earth type of acts. Do you ever worry that having done that once that you could do it again? That that might still be in you, in some way? No, I don't worry. Not a` Not a minuscule. < Why? < Why? Cos it's not in me. < It was. < It was. It's gone. When was the last time you saw your sons? When was the last time you saw your sons? Guess it's nearly been 20 years. 20 years? 20 years? Nearly. (SIGHS) (INHALES) Well, the last 15 minutes flew by. I just looked at my watch, and it was 15 minutes ago. (CLEARS THROAT) So, yeah, I hope that they are, uh, vigorously enjoying life. I really do. SOFT ELECTRONIC MUSIC OK, how about if we go inside? I'll show you where your bedroom is. This is your comforter. I still owe you a pillow and a set of sheets. This is your bedroom, your closet. Uh, this is a three-bedroom house. OK, these are your new roommates. This is Mr Elias. I was leaving the world of LA's 290s, feared and suspected for understandable reasons. Some were guilty of the most upsetting crimes imaginable, others apparently remorseful and looking for a new start. It was hard not to wish a better future for them but for the worst, impossible to forget the pain they'd caused and could possibly cause again. Captions by Alana Cruikshank. Edited by Tom Wilson. www.able.co.nz Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright Able