SANTA CRUZ — A residential placement hearing for a twice-convicted rapist continues Monday morning in a Santa Cruz courtroom.
Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Syda Cogliati is set to resume consideration of a proposal to house Michael Cheek, 69, considered a “sexually violent predator,” in rural San Lorenzo Valley.
Cheek served 17 years in prison before being placed under psychological treatment by the Department of State Hospitals for an additional 24 years. He was classified as a sexually violent predator in 1997 under the then-new state law of the same name after telling a judge he wanted to be sent to a mental hospital for treatment, according to an Aug. 31, 2001, Sentinel report.
At the core of his incarceration was Cheek’s 1980 rape of a 21-year-old woman at Seabright Beach, for which he was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Separately, while being transferred to an automobile theft-related court hearing in Contra Costa County the next year, Cheek escaped and raped a 15-year-old girl in Lake County in Northern California before being recaptured and later convicted of the second crime.
State-contracted Liberty Healthcare Corp. is proposing that Cheek be housed in a Bonny Doon rental unit off Empire Grade, not far from a small private co-op school, a bus stop and a state park trailhead.
Enhanced assessment required
During an initial Sept. 7 hearing on the proposal, attended by dozens of Bonny Doon community members opposing the residential placement, Cogliati asked Liberty representatives to return this month with an extended assessment of the site that was responsive to citizen concerns.
Highlighted at last month’s hearing was the question of how well Cheek will be monitored during the area’s regular power outages. Liberty psychologist Cameron Zeidler said at the time that patients are expected to turn on power generators during outages.
Also at the September hearing, Zeidler described Cheek as “highly treated and competent,” and his defense attorney, Stephen Prekoski, asserted that the state hospital rarely recommends releases of sexually violent predators, as it did with Cheek — an endorsement in his client’s favor.
Bonny Doon community members plan to rally against Cheek’s placement during a demonstration outside the courthouse Monday morning, according to a press release issued by Mike Geluardi, a resident of the neighborhood proposed for Cheek’s placement and the Bonny Doon Union Elementary School District board president.
Prior to the latest set of hearings, Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Stephen Siegel in October 2019 had ordered Cheek released to outpatient care, hinging on his continued treatment and supervision, as called for in the Department of State Hospitals’ conditional release program.
Initially, state officials looked to Redwood City for placement, but the property owner withdrew their rental offering after community outcry there, according to media reports.
Public access
On Tuesday, Santa Cruz County Assistant District Attorney Alex Byers requested that the court unseal Liberty’s report, hear testimony from an additional community member and delay Monday’s hearing.
Byers said he had not had time to review Liberty’s updated placement recommendation, particularly as it related to the nearby school. He added that he had received “a whole binder-full of information” from the community about Cheek’s proposed placement, including more recent public outreach. The court closed public comment on the placement issue prior to the September hearing.
“I have a duty to bring the court information so the court can make a reasonable, informed decision and that information comes from the community, most of it,” Byers said.
Cogliati denied the three requests but extended a deadline by which Byers needed to respond to Liberty’s updated filing.
“I’m reluctant to keep this going for a variety of reasons,” Cogliati said. “It is an important decision. As has been noted multiple times, this is has been a very very long process and I’m very hesitant to continue to extend it. I think everybody was anticipating a decision on the 15th.”
IF YOU GO
• What: Sexually violent predator residential placement hearing.
• When: 9 a.m., Monday.
• Where: Santa Cruz County Superior Court, Department 6, 701 Ocean St.
• At issue: Bonny Doon residence under consideration.
Source: www.mercurynews.com