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Violent Sexual Predator Moving Into Roseville Neighborhood Has Residents Afraid To Go Outside

ROSEVILLE (CBS13) — A violent sexual predator is out of prison and now living in a Roseville neighborhood, raising concerns among his new neighbors.

A CBS13 viewer asked us what rights do neighbors have when a registered sex offender moves in nearby?

The flyer distributed by police on Thursday describes in specific detail the man's past crimes, and it has neighbors, especially women, frightened to even go outdoors.

Erin Alvis is trying to figure out what she can do after 58-year-old William Stephenson moved in next door to her mother.

"She's terrified; she doesn't want to be in her backyard; she doesn't want to her her mail; she doesn't want to walk her dog; she's really scared," she said. "It's not like he wrote a fraudulent check and got caught for it. He's a violent sexual offender who has already re-offended in the past."

Stephenson was convicted twice in El Dorado County in the 1980s and 1990s on sexual battery and indecent exposure charges. His victims were women he did not know.

He's a high-risk offender to the point the state requires the mentally ill convict to be monitored around the clock 24 hours a day. He also can't drive anywhere.

Roseville Police say there's nothing they can do unless Stephenson is breaking the law. Until then, he's just another resident in the city.

CBS13 attempted to contact Stephenson at his home, but no one answered.

The neighbors say they are planning a community meeting getting together to figure out what they can do to get their new neighbor to leave the area.

You can search the Megan's Law website for possible sex offenders in the area, but as this disclaimer on the site mentions, using the information to harass an offender or their family can result in prosecution (bold added for emphasis):

Legal and Illegal Uses. The information on this web site 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. Any person who is required to register pursuant to Penal Code section 290 who enters this web site is punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000, imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding six months, or by both the fine and imprisonment. (Pen. Code, § 290.46, subd. (k).)

Megan's Law website.

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