Lawrence Joseph Brown, 52. (Photos courtesy of Orange County District Attorney's Office)
Frustrated Orange County authorities, unable to stop Wednesday’s release of a man who raped 7- and 8-year-old girls in the early 1980s, warned Tustin and Santa Ana residents today and vowed to push for laws to make it harder for sexually violent predators to get paroled.
Lawrence Joseph Brown, 52, who was convicted in 1985 of sexually assaulting two young girls, is scheduled to be released from Chino State Prison Wednesday.
Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas held a news conference with Santa Ana police Chief Paul Walters, Tustin police Chief Scott Jordan and Sen. Lou Correa, D-Santa Ana, to warn residents of Tustin and Santa Ana where Brown may live.
They also criticized the state Department of Mental Health for not working with authorities to declare Brown a sexually violent predator. That designation would send Brown to a state mental institution, where he could be held indefinitely.
Some Lawrence Brown's visible tattoos (Photo courtesy of Orange County District Attorney's Office)
A jury found Brown guilty Feb. 15, 1985, of two felony counts of kidnapping and five felony counts of forcible sex crimes against a child. He was sentenced to 49 years in prison. After serving 25 years of the sentence, Brown was eligible for parole and was released from prison April 27 to May 6, but was returned to prison for failing to charge a GPS device, Rackauckas said.
While Brown was free, he lived with his girlfriend at 13071 Red Hill Ave. in Tustin about 350 yards from a school, Rackauckas said.
He said his office repeatedly appealed to the state Department of Mental Health to let prosecutors try to get Brown designated a sexually violent predator. But he said his prosecutors were rebuffed.
“Is the public OK with the fact that, unless the Department of Mental Health forwards a recommendation, the District Attorney is legally prohibited from filing an SVP petition against Brown to keep him off of our streets?” Rackauckas said.
State psychiatric experts did not agree that Brown is a sexually violent predator.
The Department of Mental Health could decide to let Orange County prosecutors provide them with more information, Rackauckas said.
“The Department of Mental Health conduct their sessions in secret,” Rackaukas said.“We have no right to review or appeal their nonsensical decisions, no ability to present relevant information, no indication that they bothered to review the information we did carefully provide to them. You would expect these types of secretive practices in North Korea, not here.”
Rackauckas said he could not fathom the decision, because Brown repeatedly denied the crimes and asked prosecutors to review his case again last year.
Brown’s semen was genetically matched to some found on one of the victim’s underwear, Rackaukas said, adding that the DNA evidence was not available to jurors in 1985.
Rackauckas blasted prison officials for failing to alert law enforcement about Brown’s release.
Correa said his staff has been working on legislation and expects to introduce a bill for a vote in December.
Jordan said Tustin police will blanket the neighborhood where Brown’s girlfriend lives with fliers containing an image of Brown and notice of his impending release.
“People should know this is not a good man and to run if you see him,” Jordan said.
Walters said Brown is expected to try to live in Irvine, Tustin or Santa Ana.
Brown abducted an 8-year-old girl playing hide-and-seek with her friends near her Santa Ana home April 19, 1983, and forced her to orally copulate him before raping her.
On Oct. 5 that same year, Brown abducted a 7-year-old girl as she walked to school in Santa Ana. He dragged the girl, a recent immigrant from Cambodia, into his red van where he anally raped her and forced her to orally copulate him. Brown threatened the girl with a knife and drove her to a cemetery and told her she would be buried there if she told anyone.
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The fact that the district attorney has basically issued a death penalty on a man who, despite being deemed no threat to society, and whom has already served 25 years of a sentence sought by a desperate district attorney in need of a scapegoat, is enough to make any sane person question the real intentions of District Attorney Tony Rackauckas. Unfortunately, corruption is not found solely in politics, and in this case those who have sought the truth have been brushed aside and denied access to vital information. It is a sad day for California, as well as this nation when a innocent man is condemned and pleas for the truth go unheard.
I can not believe this sick man is being released into the public!
Shame on our judicial “system”.
Carisa – Let this animal live with your children then. Are you crazy. Did you hear that he raped and sodomized these little girls?
sod·om·y (s d-m) n. Any of various forms of sexual intercourse held to be unnatural or abnormal, especially anal intercourse or bestiality. [Middle English sodomie, from Old …
Don’t feel badly for this animal. Our state should have given him the death penalty to begin with. If nothing else, he should have served his complete 50 years!! At least them he would be 77 and hopefully useless sexually. He was out previously and let the batteries run out in his locating devise on purpose. He will do this again. Do you want it to be on someone you love????
Carisa you are an idiot. You must be a child rapist as well to say such nonsense.
Sicko Brown,
Don’t you or your sad excuse for girlfriend come to Irvine. we don’t accept dregs of humanity in our community
Carisa,
I don’t know what article you were reading, but clearly it wasn’t the one you posted to. This man was found guilty in a jury trial, that means he is NOT innocent. He served half of his sentence, which, in a sane society would have been the death penalty. Why do you believe the prosecutor “needs a scapegoat”? He’s simply trying to protect you and all children in the area from this proven menace. I suppose if you feel so strongly about it, offer to let this “innocent man” live in your house and see if you attitude changes!
I am terrified for my children. Scared to let them outside in a neighborhood I once believed to be safe. Carisa, will this monster be living with you again in the same house? That is too close for comfort for me. I hope you have moved since May. I don’t need him anywhere near my children!
Our judicial system has become inefficient and non-effective in addition to insolent. Again, professionals in mental health have told the parole board he will re-offend in a short time. After the Smart case, and the Lake Elsinore girls what more do they require to believe? Do the people responsible for this man’s release after serving only half of the sentence time take the responsiblity for his criminal acts after his release today? He has already been returned once for not charging his tracking device. I am sicken by their decision and hope all the citizens of California will take note and make their objections known.
this is so alarming to me. I vow to do everything in my power to stop this man from walking the streets of OC the reason I pay so much to live here is partially due to it being so safe…not with this crazy running loose. He shouldn’t have even been eligible for parole! Is be happy to pay more taxes to keep him in jail….
Attn: Carisa Harris-Blades
You must have missed these points– Here is a recap:
-A jury found Brown guilty (This means he is not innocent)
-Brown’s semen was genetically matched to some found on one of the victim’s underwear, Rackaukas said, adding that the DNA evidence was not available to jurors in 1985.
It is a sad day for California when we have stupid comments by ignorant people like you. Your kind of thinking is dangerous.
This is an abomination. A child’s life and safety must be a pretty cheap thing in California. (Too bad he can’t be released in Texas!) I can’t believe that the CA Dept of Mental Health couldn’t classify a two-time child rapist and torturer as a sexually violent predator. If his crimes don’t meet that criteria, what does? These folks need to be fired, and their crackerjack psychiatry degrees revoked. Please join with me in writing to anyone you can about this. Write to the Governor. Write to all the news sources. Write to the California Department of Health’s Director, Stephen Mayberg(stephen.mayberg@dmh.ca.gov).
We are currently trying to organize a rally to protest the release of repeated violent sex offender Joseph Brown. If anyone is interested in helping to organize, attend, or just help spread the word PLEASE JOIN our Facebook page. Even if you can’t attend, please join anyway and help to end the continued release of repeated sex offenders who inflict unimaginable suffering on innocent people and children.
Please “Like” our Facebook Page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rally-Against-the-Release-of-Lawrence-Joseph-Brown/178345285512560?v=info
Please also join the group to be in the loop of any future rallies!
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_124919400901515
If you are enraged by this decision and would like to take action please join the Facebook page: Rally Against the Release of Joseph Lawrence Brown. We are organizing protests and trying to spread the word. Please join us in taking a stand against the release of violent sexual criminals.
The only thing I can think of is that Carisa is this creeps girlfriend! Who else would say something so ignorant and defend this monster?!!!
Kill this Bastard why wasting Tax Payer Dollar?
THIS GUY DOES NOT DESERVE TO BE AT ALL NEAR CHILDREN HE SHOULD OF NEVER BEEN RELEASED,,,I PERSONALLY WOULD DO SOMETHING TO GET HIM THE HELL OUT OF HERE……
Can somebody please tell me why this piece of —- is still breathing good air???? OK I’ll let ya in on a little secret, he’s a sexual predator but under the knew regime we have today we must understand them and figure out that if we don’t like scum —- like this then we are the ones that is wrong. I mean look at this administrations track record!!!! I mean would you leave you’re Daughter in the hands of a taliban leader while you and your guy talked with them about your Daughters future??? If you say YES to this question then please don’t bother to read anymore because you are certainly a moron!!! If you said no, then we need folks like you to be an American and to provide the support that we need to win elections and influence pricks that answered yes to the question!!! I mean can you get what I’m saying folks??? We actually have folks in this country that are willing to hand over every damned thing that has ever been worked out and put in place by hardworking really good Americans that just wanted to better their kids than they had!!! Know what I mean folks. We need a revolution in this country and we need it now!!! These pricks that promised HOPE AND CHANGE are nothing more than phonies that wanted to win Chicago type elections. I’m talking about the Al Capone crowd type elections. Know what I mean folks!!! Hey let’s get together and elect a real American to the office of President. That means a really good American like Sarah Palin. I’m not suggesting that you support her but at least support someone with her politics!!! OK If you want to write me then my e-mail is posted with this message. Hey Ya’ll I LOVE America and I love you !!
LOL at all the drama in these posts. The guy has done the time that the laws of 1985 prescribed. Leave him alone.