Stanislaus County District Attorney Jeff Laugero is making one more attempt to keep a convicted child molester from being released into a west Turlock residence.
Despite a ruling earlier this month by the Fifth District Court that paved the way for the release of sexually violent predator Kevin Scott Gray, whose crimes date back to 1974, Laugero’s office filed a motion opposing the proposed placement of Gray into a residence at 400 N. Central Ave.
Dwellings on either side of that residence are home to small children.
The public motion includes disturbing details about Gray’s crimes and proclivities, and asserts that he should not be housed next to children due to his “ongoing impulsive behavior and recent statements that he still has sexual thoughts about children.”
Gray has been held by the Department of State Hospitals since 2002, and according to a DSH evaluation in February, he “remains a danger to the health and safety of others in that he is likely to engage in future predatory sexually violent criminal behavior.”
Stanislaus County District Attorney Jeff Laugero wants the court to have all pertinent information before Gray is released.
“The court cannot make an informed decision with knowing all the risk factors relevant to determine if placement of the sexually violent predator at the proposed site is appropriate,” Laugero said in an emailed response to the Journal’s questions. “As our motion states, placement at the site will endanger nearby children, and the community, if approved. Relevant facts were provided in the motion to demonstrate the threat to public safety presented by Gray.”
The Journal attempted to speak with Martin Baker, attorney for Gray, but he was not in the office.
Convicted four times of crimes involving forceful sexual violence against children between the ages of 8 and 11, Gray has admitted that at least 10 of his sexual assaults involved breaking into homes to access the victim, court documents show.
“Additionally, (Gray) has admitted molesting 50 children under the age of 14 and exposing himself to, or masturbating in front of, young children at least 1,000 times,” the motion states. “(Gray) admitted he likes peering into house windows to look at young children and masturbate. He has stated he has masturbated in public approximately 250 times.”
Court documents also cite a Liberty Healthcare evaluation of Gray, dated July 24, 2020.
“More disturbingly,” the motion begins, “(Gray) has had sexual thoughts about past victims as young as 6 years old, fantasized about kidnapping young children for sexual purposes, expressed a desire to build 50 to 100 cells on property where he could house children he abducts so he can sexually assault them, and described having an underground basement where he could imprison young girls that he could sexually assault.”
The motion also provides details that, while incarcerated, Gray was caught with an electronic storage device that contained nearly 1,000 images of children in erotic poses.
Laugero’s motion also takes issue with the monitoring system proposed by Liberty Healthcare, which oversees the state’s SVP conditional release program.
“Liberty’s ‘safety plan’ to keep (Gray) from reoffending is to have him wear a GPS monitor. Although live monitoring of (Gray) is critical for the safety of children in the community, this will not happen,” the motion states. “(Gray) will not be ‘live’ monitored by Liberty employees to detect if he goes into excluded areas. Because Liberty has no presence in Stanislaus County, they will rely on (Gray) to voluntarily charge his GPS monitor battery so they can track his location once a day … hours after his actual movements.”
Gray and convicted child molester Timothy Roger Weathers were set to be released into the west Turlock residence last year, but it was discovered that a home school was located next door. Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Carrie M. Stephens ruled that the location was unsuitable for the SVPs. The Fifth District Court reversed Stephens’ decision on July 9.
Weathers was set to reside in a secondary residence at 400 N. Central. However, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Wendell Emerson, that residence was constructed without proper permits, and has been ruled unsuitable for the time being.
Gray is due back in court on Aug. 8, and a sidewalk protest outside the Stanislaus County Superior Court is being organized by the Central Valley Moms Club.
