California sheriff fights plan to house convicted sex predator near Girl Scout camp
California officials are considering moving convicted rapist Michael Thomas Cheek, 74, from a locked psychiatric facility to a rental home in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Sheriff Chris Clark opposes the plan, citing the home’s proximity to a Girl Scout camp and schools, difficult access for deputies and concerns about monitoring Cheek in an area with unreliable power and mobile coverage.
Cheek was convicted in 1980 of raping a young woman at gunpoint, then escaped from jail and raped a 15-year-old girl at gunpoint. Classified as a sexually violent predator, he completed a treatment programme in 2019 after two earlier housing proposals in Santa Cruz County failed. A Superior Court judge is due to hear arguments on the proposed placement on 30 October; the home is valued at more than $800,000.
In short
- Sheriff Chris Clark opposes Cheek’s proposed move to Santa Cruz County.
- The rental home is near a Girl Scout camp and schools.
- A judge is due to hear arguments on 30 October.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The sheriff’s concerns deserve serious weight: placing a person convicted of violent sexual offences near a children’s camp and schools could create avoidable risks and distress for families. Difficult access and unreliable power or mobile coverage may also make effective supervision harder, so officials should be confident that practical safeguards can work before approving the move.
The case against
Completing a treatment programme and being classified as a sexually violent predator do not, by themselves, settle whether this particular placement is safe or lawful; that decision should rest on current evidence and a judge’s assessment. A person leaving a locked facility may need a community placement, and rejecting homes because of general proximity concerns could make it difficult to find any suitable housing, even where monitoring and other safeguards can manage the risks.