Few criminals get people more on edge than sex offenders, but now it appears that some sex offenders who are still on parole have flouted the terms of their release, even going so far as to cut off their GPS tracking devices.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation maintains a website that's updated daily. It shows at-large parolees who have bailed on the state's GPS monitoring system.

The list includes many sex offenders from Bay Area counties, such as Ronnie Cooke from Santa Clara County; guilty of sexual battery. And Daryl Larry Neal from Alameda County; guilty of child molestation.

"If you're a sex offender and you are on the loose, you are still being looked for," said Jeffrey Callison, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations.

KTVU obtained a whistle-blower letter to the state auditor. It said parole officers are sounding the alarm about 150 paroled sex offenders who have disabled their GPS anklets and could be living with minors or near schools and parks. All would be in violation of their parole, and no one is looking for them.

"You take your ankle monitor off, that's supposed to be the great tool," said Republican Assemblyman Jim Nielsen, from Redding. "To take care of the really bad guys, they take their ankle monitor off, bye, no problem."

Assembly Bill 109 was the Realignment Bill that changed the way the California Prison System operates, and some argue it has removed the ability of the state to return sex offenders to prison for parole violations.

"If you're a sex offender and you're on the run, that's not a low-level violation, folks," Nielsen said. "That's big serious."

One major issue is that cutting off a GPS tracking device is not a felony, so if an offender does it, he won't sent back to prison. And because of jail overcrowding, this kind of misdemeanor will not land a person back in county jail for long, if at all.

"Depending on what county you're in. If you're in Fresno County, if you're in Stanislaus County, they aren't taking parole violators, because of overcrowding," said Lynn Brown, a victims' advocate from Advocates for Public Safety.

Corrections Parole reports from last month show that because of overcrowding, sex offenders in Fresno County who violate parole and are caught are not locked up in the Fresno jail.

After poring through hundreds of pages of parolees who are on the loose, KTVU found one named Mauricio Ortiz from Santa Clara County who was arrested for absconding parole supervision and failing to register as a sex offender, among other charges. He's now back behind bars, serving for