SANTA ANA – State law makers and local police are looking to keep convicted sex offenders from online social networks such as MySpace and Facebook, where authorities said sexual predators now roam looking for victims.

“The reality of the world is, yesterday’s playground is today’s social networking site,” said Kamala Harris, district attorney for the San Francisco District.

As minors continue to flock toward social sites such as MySpace and Facebook, so do sexual predators who are looking for victims, officials said. Just as minors are protected from convicted sex offenders in places such as schools and parks, they must too be protected from the cyber world where they socialize.

“My playground (as a child) was a slide and a few swings,” said Assemblywoman Norma Torres (D-Pomona), author of the proposed law. “The new playground is the Internet, social networking sites.”

In a press conference Wednesday, Santa Ana Police Chief Paul Walters and the San Francisco District Attorney, officials pitched a proposed law that would make it illegal for a registered sex offender to use any social networking site.

Officials likened the proposed restrictions to those already in place, which prevent sex offenders from being near schools. The difference, officials said, is an adaptation to the world we live in today.

“The more sophisticated the world gets, the more sophisticated the criminals get,” said Cpl. Anthony Bertagna of the Santa Ana Police Department.

Police cited the case of Matthew Martinez Castaneda, a 33-year-old man accused of courting a 12-year-old girl on MySpace and allegedly raping her in an Anaheim motel after taking her to two theme parks. Castaneda was not a registered sex offender, but if convicted, he would be prohibited from using MySpace in the future under the proposed law.

“Now we have a new frontier,” said Assemblyman Jose Solorio (D-Anaheim), who is supporting the proposed law. “Our children are gathering online. Just like they used to make friends in the classroom, they are now making friends online.”

Details of the proposed bill, known as AB 2208, are still being worked out, Torres said. Specific on what penalties would be faced have not been worked out, but violators could face up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

According to Harris, one in 33 minors are solicited for sex online, and only a quarter of them report the incident to their parents.

“With this technology, when we open that laptop, we basically open the front door to our house,” Harris said.

With the proposed bill, parents would be able to report to police when a sex offender is courting their child online, before the child is victimized, Torres said.

Stings where law enforcement officials pretend to be an underage child to see if they are courted by an potential sexual predator is not uncommon, but the proposed legislation would be preemptive, officials said. As a sex offender registers with local law enforcement, they would also be prohibited from using social networking sites.

Under the proposed law, a social network site would be considered one used by a large number of minors. Other social sites, like those that can be used to search for employment, would not be included in the definition, Harris said.

The bill is expected to be reviewed in committee on March 23.

Contact the writer: shernandez@ocregister.com or 949-454-7361