There are legal limits on disclosures: only information on registered sex offenders allowed to be disclosed under California law appears on the website. Also under state law, some registered sex offenders are not subject to public disclosure, so they are not included on the website. State law does not allow offenses other than the crimes for which the convicted sex offender is required to register to be disclosed on the Megan’s Law website.
There are legal and illegal uses of the website which notes, “The information on this website is made available solely to protect the public. 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.”
Aside from sex offenders, anyone convicted of serious arson crimes that include maliciously setting fire to property, arson causing great bodily injury, arson of an inhabited structure or property, arson of a structure or forest land, attempted arson, possessing a device for arson, and possessing or manufacturing a firebomb must register with the local law enforcement agency in the area where they reside.
A 1994 arson statute mandated that they register within 14 days after they are released back into the community. Convicted arsonists must register for life, but only have to update it when they move.
Juveniles convicted of arson crimes only need to register until they turn 25 years old.
