Sacramento - Senator Scott Wilk, R-Antelope Valley, announces the introduction of Senate Bill 1199 (SB 1199), which requires a family or community connection before a sex offender can be paroled into a community, unless that placement would violate any other law or pose a risk to the victims.
“Last week a judge’s ruling means California may have to consider early parole for tens of thousands of sex offenders. Without a change in the law, the judge’s ruling could mean a flood of sex offenders settle in areas like the Antelope or Victor valleys,” said Wilk. “This is of tremendous concern to me and my constituents. We cannot let the few remaining rural and affordable areas of California become the state’s dumping ground for California’s sex offenders. It is dangerous for the communities and puts a strain on the availability of the services and supervision needed for the parolee to successfully rehabilitate.”
SB 1199 would expand current protections against the ‘dumping’ of sexually violent predators into random communities to include taking family and community ties into consideration when determining where inmates convicted of registrable sex offenses are placed. This would apply except in cases where such placement would violate any other law or pose a risk to the victim.
“Areas like the Antelope and Victor valleys have become collateral damage when convicted sex offenders go from prison to parole. The influx of sex offenders poses an unacceptable risk to the residents and places a tremendous strain on the availability of services for the newly released inmate,” said Wilk. “Our communities will be safest if sex offenders never commit another crime. That being the goal, the offenders’ support systems should also be considered when determining placement.”
In 2014 Christopher Hubbart, a dangerous serial rapist known as the “pillowcase rapist,” was placed in a home in a rural area of Palmdale after a Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge determined his “domicile” to be Los Angeles County. Hubbart’s release resulted in legislation (AB 1607, 2014) allowing counties of potential placement to be given notice and an opportunity to be heard in court.