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The zoom display screen in Santa Cruz County Superior Courtroom reveals Decide Syda Cogliati, high, and convicted rapist Michael Cheek in November. Cheek is at the moment below care on the Division of State Hospitals-Coalinga, which focuses on treating sexually violent predators. (Shmuel Thaler — Santa Cruz Sentinel file)
SANTA CRUZ — A state appeals courtroom has quickly frozen the scheduled launch of a sexually violent predator to a Bonny Doon house.
The California Courtroom of Appeals for the sixth Circuit’s keep halts a call made by Santa Cruz County Superior Courtroom Decide Syda Cogliati. On Nov. 15, the choose dominated that 70-year-old Michael Cheek, a twice-convicted rapist, was eligible to take up residence at a house on Wild Iris Lane, over widespread group opposition. Acknowledging at the moment that her choice was prone to be appealed to the sixth District, Cogliati set an preliminary two-week maintain on Cheek’s launch.
The state defines a sexually violent predator as an individual who has been convicted of a sexually violent offense and has a identified psychological dysfunction that makes the particular person a hazard to others. Historically, the legislation requires the offender to be positioned within the county that was the particular person’s county of domicile previous to the particular person’s incarceration, barring extraordinary circumstances. Cheek beforehand resided in Contra Costa County.
Previous to final yr’s listening to, Cheek had served 16 years in federal jail for 2 crimes, together with the 1980 rape of a lady kidnapped from Seabright State Seaside, earlier than present process therapy via the State Division of Psychological Well being. In 2019, Cheek grew to become eligible for outpatient care via the hospitals’ conditional launch program. To this point, nevertheless, state-contracted agency Liberty Healthcare Corp. has been unable to realize traction find an acceptable group for Cheek’s launch.
State lawmakers final month launched laws dubbed the “Sexually Violent Predator Accountability, Equity, and Enforcement Act” to shine a powerful mild on the Division of State Hospital’s group placement of sexually violent predators. Senate Invoice 841 has since been referred to the Senate Committee on Public Security for evaluate.
The Santa Cruz County District Legal professional’s Workplace appealed Cogliati’s choice to sixth District on Jan. 14. On Tuesday, the courtroom put a maintain “till additional order of this courtroom” on Cheek’s launch to Bonny Doon in an effort to “allow additional consideration of the problems raised by the petition for writ of mandate.”
“This restricted short-term keep doesn't preclude the superior courtroom from contemplating conditional launch at various placements,” the judicial order states.
Final yr, Liberty Healthcare officers have been ordered to handle group issues associated to Cheek’s supervised launch on the dead-end non-public road off Empire Grade. In response, the corporate agreed to put in an computerized generator, a “GPS dome” stopping Cheek from touring greater than 150 ft from the house, safety fencing and 4 property surveillance cameras. The corporate additionally promised to offer a satellite tv for pc telephone for Cheek’s use, to put in a GPS sign booster and to rent a 24/7 on-site safety guard.