Shipping predators somewhere else
“We don’t want him. Let’s send him someplace else.”
That’s the attitude some counties seem to take when sexually violent criminals are about to be released into their midst. Of course, they know all about how dangerous these people are, and you can’t blame them for not wanting such individuals roaming their streets again. So what do they do?
They occasionally attempt to ship them somewhere else, where hopefully some small, sleepy, backwoods town won’t even notice.
In this case, they picked Paradise.
The California Department of State Hospitals has proposed housing a sexually violent predator from Santa Cruz County at a private residence in Paradise for outpatient treatment. It’s their second attempt at sending this man to Butte County in the past three years.
We’ll tell you how you can object. But first, let’s take a look at the man Santa Cruz County has decided can’t live in their area, but would apparently fit nicely in Paradise, at 1550 Gate Lane — an area near Skyway and Clark Road and barely a hundred feet from the Paradise Memorial Trailway, a popular biking and hiking trail.
According to a news release from Paradise Police, Michael Cheek, now 71, was convicted of kidnapping, rape and forcible oral copulation in 1980. He abducted a 21-year-old woman from a Santa Cruz beach, drove her to a remote location and raped her at gunpoint. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
But then, in 1981, he escaped — and committed another rape, this time in Lake County. In that case, he abducted a 15-yearold girl — again at gunpoint — and raped her. Cheek was convicted of rape and furnishing a controlled substance to a minor, and was sentenced to an additional 11 years and 4 months.
He was scheduled to be released in 1997, but the Santa Cruz District Attorney’s Office successfully petitioned to have him declared as a sexually violent predator under the Sexually Violent Predators Act, and he was committed to the Department of State Hospitals for treatment.
That kept him locked up for more than 20 years. But on Oct. 7, 2019, state hospitals declared Cheek could be supervised as an outpatient under the supervision of the state hospital’s sexually violent predator supervision contractor, Liberty Healthcare Corporation.
A few months later, Liberty said they couldn’t find housing for Cheek within Santa Cruz County, so a judge authorized relocating him elsewhere.
On Aug. 6, 2020, Liberty proposed sending him to live at a sister’s home in Berry Creek. Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey and Sheriff Kory Honea both objected, noting the placement was too close to the Berry Creek school. Before that matter was settled, the sister withdrew consent, and that home was later destroyed in the Bear Fire. The sister has since moved out of the area.
Liberty finally found a home for Cheek in Santa Cruz in July 2021. Later, a private school opened in that area. So, Liberty again proposed sending Cheek to live at a newly rebuilt empty residence in Paradise.
No Butte County agency was notified about that hearing, and a Santa Cruz Superior Court judge placed a gag order on officials barring them from disclosing the address until an official public notice had taken place. That notice was just received by Paradise Police and the Butte County DA on Feb. 2. Within days, Ramsey’s office filed an objection with the Santa Cruz Superior Court, saying that mandated notice requirements had been violated; the judge rejected the objection and ordered a placement hearing to proceed.
Ramsey says that hearing date is scheduled for March. Here’s how you can make your voice heard.
Objections to Cheek’s placement in Paradise must be finalized locally by Feb. 24. Ramsey said objections can be based upon facts such as the home being located too close to public or private schools, parks, places where children congregate or places where victims of the type previously attacked by Cheek can be found. It would seem to us a stone’s throw from a popular hiking trail would qualify.
Residents can object by sending letters to Paradise Chief of Police Eric Reinbold, 5595 Black Olive Drive, Paradise, 95969.
Also, a town hall meeting will be held Thursday, Feb. 16 from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Paradise Alliance Church at 6491 Clark Road.
The question of what to do with sexually violent predators once they’re released from custody has no easy answers. Legally, there aren’t a lot of places they can live, and there certainly aren’t a lot of people volunteering to take them in.
For a while, we actually had a law requiring for releasees to return to the jurisdiction where conviction occurred. That apparently proved too restraining, and a place such as Paradise — with plenty of open lots and newly constructed homes — is ripe to become overused.
We think residents of the ridge have been through enough. Don’t be shy about letting Santa Cruz County know what you think of this idea.