IN THE PIPELINE:

Halloween is next week, and so the young troops dressed as wizards, princesses, mummies and the like will be headed door to door, bags open, imaginations poised.

Will they encounter spooks and goblins? Perhaps. Will they stand before monsters? The odds, sadly, are growing higher that they will. For real.

At least that’s my conclusion after studying the Megan’s Law website ( www.meganslaw.ca.gov/) where it’s possible to search by name, address, city, zip code, parks and schools to see information regarding the more than 63,000 persons required to register in California as sex offenders.

“Megan’s Law” was passed in 1994 in New Jersey in honor of Megan Kanka, who was raped and killed by Jesse Timmendequas.

Years earlier, he had pleaded guilty to the attempted aggravated sexual assault of a 5-year-old girl. After serving six years, he later lived with two other convicted sex offenders across the street from Megan. Timmendequas lured the girl into his house with the promise of showing her a puppy.

He then raped her, slammed her head onto a dresser, put two plastic bags over her head and strangled her with a belt.

He dragged her body to his truck, assaulting her once again before placing her in a wooden toy chest and dumping it in a nearby park. The next day, he confessed and led police to the site of the body. Today, he sits on death row.

I check the Megan’s Law website periodically to see if the activity has changed much in Huntington Beach, in our neighborhood, near schools, etc. There are just too many horrific stories in the news, and so I think it pays to be careful.

Also, I’ve had a notion in my head for several years that during Halloween, it would make sense to strengthen the awareness of those offenders in our midst.

After all, would you want your child (or any child for that matter) unwittingly knocking on the door of a convicted sexual predator? How many people don’t think to check the website, or worse, don’t even know it exists?

For that reason, the concept of somehow identifying the homes of predators during Halloween seems like it might have merit.

Last week, I read that for the second straight year in Maryland, registered sex offenders will be asked to post signs at their homes that say “No Candy at This Residence” on Halloween.

As part of the program, parole and probation agents team up with local police to dissuade convicted offenders who are not allowed to have contact with children from taking part in the holiday.

Along with the signs, offenders are advised in writing to stay home from 6 p.m. on Halloween until the next morning, leave their lights off and refuse to answer their doors. (Delaware, New Jersey, Illinois, Virginia and Texas ban registered sex offenders from handing out candy on Halloween, going to kids’ parties, or being on the streets.)

As Elizabeth Bartholomew, a spokeswoman for Maryland’s Division of Parole and Probation, told the Associated Press recently, “We actually print out the signs for the offenders and hand them to them We expect them to post the signs.”

The program is based on similar efforts in other states, and is particularly focused in Baltimore, home to more than 200 convicted sexual offenders. By comparison, Huntington Beach has 96 registered offenders, nearby Westminster has 46, and Garden Grove has a whopping 212. And those are just the offenders we know about.

I think it’s time Huntington Beach and/or Orange County implement such a system during Halloween. It’s responsible and proactive. Personally, I’d be happy with a yearlong program.

I’m sure there are lawyers who would argue that such a rule would violate a convicted predator’s civil rights, but with how densely populated our local areas are becoming, something has got to give.

I see “Beware of Dog” signs all the time and I take heed. If we can warn for dogs, why not for convicted sexual convicts? Many studies on recidivism point toward the fact that “curing” the predatory behavior these people feel is typically not an option — they simply do not outgrow or overcome their urges.

Looking at the Huntington Beach map on the website as I write this column, it is frightening how close many of these addresses are to virtually every school in town (rules vary, but in general convicted offenders cannot live within 1,000 feet of a school).

Obviously, some might think there is a risk that once an address is revealed, it might result in harm being done to the offender.

But as the Megan’s Law site points out, “Anyone who uses this information to commit a crime or to harass an offender or his or her family is subject to criminal prosecution and civil liability.”

Decent people obey the law and there can be no tolerance for unjustified harassment. But we need to be careful.

(And lest anyone think this is a call for some Draconian law that scarlet-letters all criminals for past offenses, no, this is simply about making the public more aware of child predators.)

Baltimore and other places are taking logical steps to protect the children in their neighborhoods, and I think it’s time our local leaders embrace the cause.

What do you think? Should Huntington Beach/Orange County create such a program on Halloween? Post your opinion at In The Pipeline, www.hbindependent.com/ columns.

Have an old H.B. family photo for the new book Chris is working on, “Huntington Beach, Then and Now?” Write him at [email protected]. If he uses it you’ll get a free-signed copy of the book!

CHRIS EPTING is the author of nine books including his latest, “Led Zeppelin Crashed Here, The Rock and Roll Landmarks of North America.” He also hosts “The Pop Culture Road Trip” radio show on webtalkradio.net.