Child Rapist Identified by Megan’s Law Has Moved

Convicted child rapist Roger Thomas O’Hare, whose likeness and home address were spread throughout South Pasadena by a local church last week, has left town and checked into a hospital because of his ordeal, corrections officials said Wednesday.

O’Hare, 44, moved last weekend from his father’s apartment building, where he had been staying since being paroled from state prison Jan. 9, said Levan Bell, regional administrator for the Department of Corrections’ parole division. He has since been hospitalized, which Bell attributed to “pressure” from his experience in South Pasadena.

Bell said he was unaware of the extent of O’Hare’s ailment but that it was not life-threatening. He would not say where O’Hare was being treated or where he would be living.

O’Hare’s family could not be reached for comment Tuesday, but his father last week said his son suffered from a chronic kidney condition and was a virtual cripple. Nonetheless, when he moved within walking distance of five schools, South Pasadena police sent fliers to each school under the newly enacted Megan’s Law.

A private Catholic School, Holy Family, distributed the fliers, plus O’Hare’s address, to the parents of its 300 students. Police admitted that someone in their department had “leaked” O’Hare’s address to Holy Family and possibly prodded them to act.

“Here’s a person who has for the most part paid his debt to society,” said Bell. O’Hare and other sex offenders effected by Megan’s Law “need at first to be given a chance to correct themselves.”

In 1983, O’Hare was convicted of raping a girl under 14 years of age. Since then he has been convicted of nonviolent drug and property crimes. South Pasadena police said they had intended to carefully limit those being told of his presence under the apparent first Los Angeles County use of Megan’s Law.

Msgr. Clement Connolly, pastor of Holy Family church, had not heard of O’Hare’s illness until he was contacted by a reporter Wednesday.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Connolly said. “Clearly this was not our intent,” to drive him out of town and cause him physical suffering. Connolly blamed the media for hounding O’Hare, noting that police said there was no public protest against O’Hare.

“I think that our people were extremely gracious in the way they handled this,” Connolly said. “Not one of our people harassed him or put pressure on him.”