BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Jose Barajas moved into the gated community of Tevis Ranch two years ago because he thought it was a safe community.
“We moved out of another city to come in here,” said Barajas, who is married with two children.
Barajas and his neighbors were stunned to find out recently that a group home on the 15000 block of San Marco Place has at least one registered sex offender. The sex offender is identified on a Web site as Steve Francis Mello, who was convicted for lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14.
“There must be at least 25-30 kids on this street,” said Rimpi Rai, who lives two houses away from the group home. “That’s like a playground for a pedophile.”
The group home is a Adult Residential Facility, licensed under the California Department of Social Services. It is licensed to a company called Liberty in the West.
Such facilities provide 24-hour non-medical care for adults. Mario Alvarez, a spokesman for the facility, said four developmentally disabled adults currently live there. Alvarez said neighbors have nothing to fear from the clients.
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