RivCo Lawmaker's Bill to Increase Supervision of Sex Offenders Passes Senate

A Riverside County lawmaker's bill seeking to establish a formal notification process related to the release of sex offenders from state mental institutions was approved this week by the state Senate and is now bound for the governor's desk.

Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore, authored AB 1906 with the help of the California District Attorneys Association. The change in state law was sought to ensure that county prosecutors throughout California have sufficient advance notice of an offender's pending release, in order to give them time to file a petition to have him or her re-committed, she said.

"Sexually violent predators are a class of criminals whose release must be considered with extreme caution," Melendez said. "These are dangerous criminals who prey on society's most vulnerable individuals. They commit the most disgusting and heinous violent crimes."

Melendez pointed out that existing law gives the Department of State Hospitals the option of making last-minute notifications to district attorneys' offices regarding an offender's upcoming release from a mental ward. AB 1906 would mandate a 20-day advance notification process.

If the offender has been classified a "sexually violent predator" for his or her past behavior, prosecutors can file a petition with the court requesting extended psychiatric treatment under confinement.

The Riverside County District Attorney's Office undertook just such an action with repeat sex offender David Allyn Dokich in 2007. Then-D.A. Rod Pacheco sought to have Dokich institutionalized under provisions of the State Welfare & Institutions Code. However, the Riverside-area rapist died of cancer before his commitment litigation played out in the courts.

Melendez cited John Albert Gardner as another example. The parolee, who once resided in Lake Elsinore, sexually assaulted and killed 14-year-old Amber Dubois of Escondido on Feb. 13, 2009, and 17-year-old Chelsea King of Poway on Feb. 25, 2010.

Gardner eventually pleaded guilty to the slayings under an agreement negotiated with the San Diego County District Attorney's Office. He's serving a life prison term without the possibility of parole.

"As the law stands, it is putting every single community at risk," Melendez said. "We cannot release another John Gardner into our communities. The governor and I haven't always seen eye-to-eye when it comes to public safety, but I am confident he will agree that these dangerous predators must be thoroughly vetted prior to release."

— By City News Service. Image via Shutterstock.