California State Assembly member Lorena Gonzalez (top left) watches as Maria Keever (left) and Milena Sellers Phillips (right) speak out against the proposed plan to release Douglas Badger from a state hospital. Badger, a repeat sex offender, has been accused of assaulting several young men and one 16-year-old girl. Christian Rodas for SDUT
I have an idea about where pedophiles should live. It would work for Douglas Badger (whose release is a hot issue here in San Diego), and it would work for those who have not offended, but who are sexually attracted to children.
It wouldn't just apply to child molesters who have served their prison terms. It would also prevent sexual assaults in the future by pedophiles who have not offended yet.
And it would be entirely voluntary on the part of the pedophiles. They'd rather live in my proposed development than in a trailer outside Donovan State Prison on Otay Mesa, the only viable location that has been proposed so far for Douglas Badger. And even sociopaths might be smart enough to choose a life for themselves that wouldn't involve prison--at least not for sexual assaults on children.
I call upon real estate developers, particularly those who have benefited from the generosity of San Diego taxpayers--like Corky McMillan's company, for starters--to design a development where pedophiles would live. (Perhaps those with other illegal urges would also want to move in.)
No children would be allowed into this development, and no residents would be allowed to leave except in extreme circumstances, and they would be supervised by a guard while on the outside. Anyone who leaves without a guard would not be allowed back. This would not be a place from which predators could leave to commit crimes and then come back and hide. If they leave, my guess is that they'll probably end up in prison.
How would the problem of child pornography be handled? Perhaps residents would have to agree to have their computers regularly searched, and mail would be examined. This town would allow much greater freedom and opportunity than prison, or a trailer outside the gates of a prison, but residents would have to agree to give up some of their rights in order to make sure the community could not become a haven for criminals.
I am thinking of starting a petition to this effect.
The residents could own and run their own grocery stores, restaurants, and all manner of businesses, generating taxes to pay for guards and administrators of the development. The residents wouldn't be paying any taxes if we waited for them to offend and then put them in prison.
Maura Larkins
Housing For Sexual Predator Douglas Badger To Be Determined By Judge
By Dwane Brown
KPBS
November 12, 2013
GUESTS
Lorena Gonzalez, San Diego Assemblywoman
John Rice, Deputy District Attorney, San Diego County
County and state officials, along with concerned parents, voiced opposition Tuesday to the release of convicted sexual predator Douglas Badger. A court hearing to locate housing for 70-year-old Badger will be held Friday.
Douglas Badger, who has been diagnosed with a schizophrenic disorder and sexual sadism, has a history of sexual assaults dating back to 1974.
Badger, who has been diagnosed with a schizophrenic disorder and sexual sadism, has a history of sexual assaults dating back to 1974. His victims were primarily 18- to 29-year-old male hitchhikers, although in one case he assaulted a 16-year-old girl.
He was convicted in 1981 and served 10 years in prison. Shortly after his release in 1991, he re-offended and was again convicted of sexual assault.
In 1997, Badger was committed to a state hospital as a sexually violent predator. In August, a judge ruled that Badger could be safely released into the community with continued treatment and supervision.
Milena Phillips' is the creator of the Jonathan Sellers and Charlie Keever Foundation. Sellers, Phillips' son, and his friend, Keever, were killed by a sexual predator in 1993. Phillips strongly opposes releasing Badger back into the community.
"A repeat offender, a repeat sexual sadist — to let him in an area where he could be in walking distance of children is just unthinkable," Phillips said.
San Diego County Supervisor Greg Cox and state Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez also made remarks voicing their opposition.
The Department of State Hospitals originally proposed placing Badger in Campo, in the East County, but that was withdrawn by the owner. Officials will update a judge Friday on efforts to find suitable housing for Badger.
County Supervisor Dianne Jacob, who represents East County, said in September that she wanted Badger released to a trailer near Donovan State Prison in the southern part of San Diego.
Friday's hearing will be open for public comment.
City News Service contributed to this report.
South County officials oppose sex predator's release
By Dana Littlefield
SDUT
Nov. 12, 2013
SAN DIEGO — In a pre-emptive move, two South County officials spoke out Tuesday against the pending release of a sexually violent predator, saying they do not want him placed in any of the communities they represent.
It remains unclear where Douglas Badger, a 70-year-old repeat sex offender, might be allowed to live after his release from a state mental hospital now that a proposal to place him in rural East County has been rescinded.
But state Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez and county Supervisor Greg Cox aren’t waiting to find out. They said at a news conference that Badger should not be released at all, given his history of attacking young men and a 16-year-old girl.
Only a handful of sexually violent predators have been released in San Diego County since legal changes went into effect that allowed those considered the worst offenders to be committed civilly to state hospitals after they served their time in prison. One offender remains under supervision in the community.
Gonzalez and Cox said that other sexually violent predators — including Badger — had been allowed to live in South County, specifically in a trailer outside Donovan state prison in Otay Mesa. Badger lived in the trailer from June 2006 to October 2007.
Authorities at the time said he was sent back to the hospital for medical reasons.
“It’s not OK to dump people into these communities,” Gonzalez told reporters Tuesday outside the Hall of Justice in downtown San Diego.
Cox said Badger should remain at state-controlled facility, because he has shown previously that he cannot be trusted.
“If he had reoffended once before, what guarantees do we have that he won’t reoffend again?” the supervisor asked in a letter to San Diego Superior Court Judge David Gill.
A hearing has been scheduled for Friday in Gill’s courtroom, when state officials are expected to discuss ongoing efforts to find appropriate housing for Badger in San Diego County.
Badger was one of the first people classified as a sexually violent predator to be released in San Diego County after state legislators enacted laws in 1996 that extended custody for the worst offenders.
Originally, offenders who fit the criteria were sent to Atascadero State Hospital in San Luis Obispo County, where they had the option of participating in a specialized sex offender treatment program with the goal of someday being deemed safe for release.
The program was moved later to Coalinga State Hospital in Fresno County.
At first the law required the offenders to be committed to the hospital for terms of two years, but Jessica’s Law — passed by voters in 2006 — changed existing statutes to allow predators to be committed to the hospital indefinitely.
After one year, however, they have the right to petition for a new hearing to determine whether they still fit the predator criteria.
On Aug. 21, Gill ruled that Badger could be released into the community safely with continued outpatient treatment and supervision, such as GPS monitoring.
Authorities from the state Department of Hospitals announced a month later that Badger could be allowed to live in a semi-permanent mobile home placed on nearly three-acres on Hartfell Road in Campo.
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