Two San Diego County supervisors Friday protested the newest proposed placement of a sexually violent predator in the area.
A courtroom listening to is scheduled for subsequent week on whether or not Michael Joseph Martinez needs to be allowed to stay in the desert neighborhood of Borrego Springs.
“We stand together united on this issue doing everything we can to protect our community from the danger of sexually violent predators,” San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher mentioned at a news convention Friday.
Martinez, 69, has been convicted of a number of intercourse crimes involving minors and was deemed a sexually violent predator in 2009. He is a identified pedophile with a persona dysfunction, in accordance with the San Diego County District Attorney’s office.
Both Fletcher and Supervisor Jim Desmond consider that the county ought to have a say in the place sexual predators are positioned.
“No one wants to live anywhere near a sexually violent predator,” Desmond mentioned. “And today the county does not have a say in the placement process and I believe we should also have veto power.”
Last October, supervisors voted unanimously to oppose placements till reforms with the state system are made. Fletcher mentioned he didn’t need sexually violent predators wherever in the county, however would work to seek out the “least-bad” place.
“There’s never going to be an ideal place,” he mentioned. “I think the best location I’ve seen is you can put a couple trailers in the parking lot of a state prison.”
Desmond mentioned he had not acquired a response from the state about reforming the sexual predator placement program. The California Department of State Hospitals (DSH) oversees the method and recommends housing. A spokesperson advised KPBS that the company is following the legislation.
“Ultimately, it is up to the court to determine placement of an SVPs into community locations as a part of the Conditional Release Program,” the DSH spokesperson wrote in an emailed assertion. “Changes in the process require changes in the law.”
Desmond mentioned Borrego Springs residents deliberate to point out up in drive to voice their opposition at subsequent Friday’s courtroom listening to on Martinez’s placement.
“I don’t believe anyone can adequately monitor and secure someone in a community this far from resources,” Desmond mentioned.
Martinez is presently housed at Coalinga State Hospital awaiting his placement listening to. It is a psychiatric hospital for sexual predators.
If Martinez’s placement in Borrego Springs is accepted, he might be below outpatient supervision, which might vary from GPS monitoring to unannounced searches or face-to-face visits.
