PLACEMENT: Offender

whether Chaney should be placed in this county),” McGrath said. “We also informed the judge that a large number of people who wanted to be present were unable to be there because of flooding concerns.”

He said recent events, including the Oroville Dam situation and the evacuation, lent credence to those arguments.

From a legal standpoint, if Chaney’s placement were subject to evacuation, there would have to be some sort of contingency plan approved by the court as to how he would be handled and where he would evacuate to, McGrath said.

That said, there’s no indication Chaney’s placement in Yuba County won’t eventually happen.

McGrath said local officials had a meeting Tuesday with Liberty Health Care staff members. Liberty is the organization contracted with by the state to conduct and monitor Chaney’s placement.

Liberty has dealt with other placements of this nature and indicated that fear and a range of reactions from neighbors is typical, McGrath said. And that’s why local officials wanted to have a public information meeting.

“We just wanted everyone to realize we’re obligated to keep all of the community safe, and that includes Mr. Chaney, as well,” he said.

McGrath said the meeting is intended to provide background information to the public about the laws that come into play, the application of the law to Chaney’s case, what’s previously been ruled in Monterey County, what local officials did to oppose that ruling, to provide specific information as to how Chaney will be supervised, who the supervising team members are and how supervision works to ensure there’s no risk to local residents.

The Monterey judge decided Feb. 10 that Chaney would be placed in Yuba County as part of a program to help him transition from a sex offender treatment program back into society.

The Department of State Hospitals and Liberty are responsible for his placement and supervision at the residence on Ellis Road.

Chaney was convicted of rape, sexual assault and assault to commit rape in Seaside between 1978 and 1988. He spent 10 years in prison before being committed to the sex offender program in 2000. Chaney has spent the last 10 years in a mental health facility as part of his sex offender treatment program. He will be placed here on a conditional release and GPS monitoring will be used in his supervision.