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Parolee arrested at library
Sex offender found accessing MySpace
| Friday, Dec 15 2006 10:20 PM
Last Updated: Friday, Dec 15 2006 10:24 PM
Authorities used the Web site MySpace to help nab a local sex offender who was in violation of his parole, the Kern County Sheriff's Department said.
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Brandon Lee Bigsby, 24, a paroled sex offender who is registered on the Megan's Law Web site, was arrested Thursday at the Beale Memorial Library on Truxtun Avenue while he was accessing MySpace, according to a news release from the Sheriff's Department.
In May 2003, Bigsby was sentenced to three years at Wasco State Prison after pleading guilty to charges of committing lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14, according to Kern County Superior Court records.
Included in the conditions for Bigsby's parole were orders that he wear a GPS tracking device and avoid the Taft area, authorities said.
But on Wednesday, Taft deputies were advised by California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation that Bigsby had been tracked to the 500 block of Warren Street in Taft, near Taft College, according to the sheriff's news release.
On Thursday, sheriff's deputies learned that Bigsby had actually been seen in Taft within the last 12 to 24 hours and further investigation revealed he frequently visited MySpace, accessing the site from computers in public libraries.
Sheriff's deputies went to Taft College that day, apparently in response to a call from a library employee who had found Bigsby's GPS tracker near the door of the library.
"If indeed that's what happened I really appreciate that employee's vigilance," Roe Darnell, president of Taft College, said Friday.
"I want to thank them for being diligent," he said. "That's what we expect from our employees."
Later on Thursday, deputies found that Bigsby, using the name "lilvampire420@yahoo.com," was accessing MySpace from a computer at the Beale Memorial Library. Parole agents went to the library and arrested him.
Beale's head librarian Nila Stearns said undercover law enforcement officers notified library security of the arrest at around 5:30 p.m.
Bigsby was escorted out of the library and taken to the Central Receiving Facility downtown, where he was booked for violating the terms of his parole.
GPS is an effective deterrent said Bill Sessa, press secretary for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
"Any criminal is reluctant to commit a crime if they know they are being watched," he said. "It's the eyes of the parole officer on the parolee 24 hours a day."
Authorities are investigating Bigsby's MySpace contacts and activity.
Darnell, who was out of town on the day of Bigsby's arrest, said he could not know for sure whether Bigsby had used Taft College Library's computers. Nevertheless, he said, "They are in an open area so that people cannot view something in isolation and there are staff members walking around all the time to ensure that no one is using the computers inappropriately."
He said that simply logging on to MySpace is not considered inappropriate, but the college will help the Sheriff's Department in determining whether Bigsby was using any of its library's computers inappropriately.
Darnell said there have been no incidents of reported violent sex crimes on the Taft College campus during the last two years.
Anyone aware of any unlawful actions on the part of Bigsby is asked to contact the Sheriff's Department's Taft Substation at 763-8550.