Lake County — The prosecution of sex offenders in Lake County remains a top priority for the District Attorney”s Office, Deputy District Attorney John DeChaine said in a press release. DeChaine prosecutes sex crimes in the county, including the recent case of Daniel Reneker, 65, of Lower Lake. On Nov. 7, Judge Stephen Hedstrom sentenced Reneker to six years in state prison for failing to register as a sex offender.
Reneker is required to register pursuant to penal code section 290 as a result of two prior sex offenses, prosecutor DeChaine said. In 1985, Reneker was convicted of committing a lewd or lascivious act on a child under the age of 14 in Solano County. In 1995, Reneker was convicted of sexual battery in Yolo County. Both prior convictions were felony convictions but only the 1985 conviction qualifies as a strike in California.
Reneker last registered as a sex offender in Vallejo in April 2006. Local authorities were not aware that Reneker was residing in Lake County until January 2007, when Reneker was discovered living in Lower Lake, DeChaine said. State law requires that certain convicted sex offenders, including Reneker, register within five working days of changing residences.
The investigation, which was conducted by Detective Mike Curran of the Lake County Sheriff”s Dept., yielded information that Reneker had been residing in Lake County for at least two months prior to his arrest on Feb. 1, 2007. The complaint against Reneker was filed by the D.A.”s office on Feb. 5, 2007.
Reneker pled guilty on May 4 to one felony count of failing to register as a sex offender, in violation of Penal Code section 290(a)(1)(A) and the D.A”s office required that he admit that he had suffered a prior strike conviction. The court sentenced Reneker to the upper term of three years in prison for failing to register. Because Reneker was required to admit the prior strike conviction, his prison sentence of three years was enhanced to a total of six years.
The admission of the prior strike conviction also mandates that Reneker will not be eligible for parole until he serves at least 80 percent of his prison commitment. Had Reneker not been required to admit his prior strike conviction, he would have been eligible for parole after serving only 50 percent of his time.
Contact Elizabeth Wilson at ewilson@record-bee.com
