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STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SINCE 1912 | VOL 160, NO. 54 WWW.DAILYTROJAN.COM
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j «HUDDLE UP
MONDAY, APRIL 9, 2007
A BLEND OF YOUNG AND OLD STOOD OUT AT USC’S TROJAN HUDDLE SCRIMMAGE SATURDAY ID
COMING & GOING »
HELLOGOODBYE PLAYED A CATCHY BUT INDIFFERENT SHOW FRIDAY NIGHT AT — THE WIITERN THEATRE /
Gaps in sex offender tracking at USC
Legal loopholes, self-reporting mean sex offenders can attend USC without ever notifying campus authorities.
By NATALIE JARVEY and WHITNEY JOHNSON
Daily Trojan
An unsettling combination of legal loopholes, a registry system reliant on self-reporting, a lack of both initiative and reliable information from campus authorities and the anonymity of a large college campus have allowed at least one registered sex offender in the USC community to fly below the Department of Pub-
lic Safety’s radar.
DPS is required by the 2001 Campus Sex Crimes Prevention Act to inform the campus community of where it can obtain information about the presence of sex offenders on campus, and to register all student and staff sex offenders in a campus database.
But the department failed to document at least one sex offender in the community.
"We do not have any registered
sex offenders that we know of here at USC,” DPS Capt. David Carlisle said last week.
There is, however, at least one registered sex offender in the USC commuhity: a fifth-year architecture student convicted in December of attempted lewd acts with a child. The student, who is currently enrolled and set to begin his jail sentence this summer, lives in university housing.
Though the student's trial was widely covered by campus and local media, and he is listed in the Megan's Law database, neither Carlisle nor DPS Capt Gloria Graham recalled
anyone at USC registering as an offender.
DPS officials direct all inquiries about sex offenders on campus to the Megans Law website, the state’s online sex offender database, for information on the 93 sex offenders registered in the 90007 ZIP code.
Carlisle said DPS, which also uses the Megan’s Law website to track sex offenders living in the surrounding community, did not recognize the Portland Street apartment in which the student lives as university-owned housing.
DPS and Los Angeles Police De-
partment make no mention of USC maintaining its own public records.
FLAWS IN MEGAN’S LAW WEBSITE
There are obvious loopholes, in DPS’s reliance on the Megan’s Law website.
A search for offenders living within the USC area would exclude any registered members of the USC community whose permanent address is in a ZIP code outside of the USC. The database also lists no information at all about out-of-state
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LAPD arrests gang member with gun on 24th Street
Police find man in violation of parole for previous gun possession charges Friday.
By NANCY CHEN
Daily Trojan
A 26-year-old convicted felon was arrested a block from campus for possessing a weapon in connection with gang-related activity Friday night, said Los Angeles Police I )epartment Sgt. Gerry Smedley
Policc followed Jose Lara, who was arrested at the intersection of 24th Street and Vennont Avenue, across from La Barca restaurant, and two companions for about a mile around 9 p.m. after someone notified police that Lara had a loaded gun in his waistband, Smedley said.
The weapon appeared to be a six-shot revolver, a Shooter .38 caliber, Smedley said.
Smedley said police began pursing Lara, who was in a Mitsubishi Galant, at 23rd Street and Estrella Avenue, a known gang hangout.
Traffic sat for at least 10 minutes as Lara and his companions were arrested. At least 15 police cars and a heli-
I see ARREST, page 2 |
Love don’t cost a thing »
Jonathan Lethem’s new novel, "You Don’t Love Me Yet,” is cliched at times but a fun read on the whole.
LIFESTYLE, PAGE 7
j Missing | The ’Green Woman,’ Ellendale’s public art installation, with her one remaining foot after the other was stolen
Stolen statue piece upsets Ellendale residents
Residents say the theft of the 150-pound clay foot would have required a great deal of work.
By AARON BERRY
Daily Troian
Bicycles, iPods and unattended laptops frequent thc stolen items logged in the Department of Public Safety's weekly crime reports.
But one recent theft on Ellendale Place robbed residents of something quite out of the ordinary: a giant clay foot.
More than a .week ago someone stole the 150-plus-pound foot of the only public artwork on Ellendale. a large, glossy “green woman” perched in homeowner Sharon Tool’s front yard
Tool’s daughter Sarah donated the green woman to her mother's house on Ellendale six years ago while finishing her master's in fine arts at USC
"It's hurtful I'm always astounded how something so impersonal could be so personal," said Tool, gazing toward the area of crusty dirt previously occupied by the left foot of the green woman.
Tool's tenants believe the robbery took place sometime Wednesday night, when two of the house's five residents were out with friends
The housemates said they reported the crime to DPS Thursday morning Tool said DPS officers told her the foot would likely be found and returned because of its distinct appearance and large size
“In our investigation file, we currently have no leads and no witnesses," said DPS Capt. David Carlisle “We encourage anyone with any information on the case to contact us"
One tenant. Susan Stouffer, a doctoral candidate in occupational science, said she helped distribute "missing" fliers around the neighborhood
Within 24 hours, all thc fliers except for one were tom down
“Thev were taped up. so it wasn’t just like they fell down." Stouffer said "Someone ripped them down and wadded them up and threw them on the ground"
The one remaining flier still hangs on Tool’s fence, just a foot away from the amputated statue
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Shaking in their boots »
The British have abandoned Winston Churchill’s call for self-preservation, writes columnist Kip Payne.
OPINION, PAGE 4