Michael Cheek’s release remains in limbo as a state-mandate committee did not identify any viable housing options for him at its Thursday meeting. Cheek is due back in court Tuesday, when Liberty Healthcare Corporation — the state contractor trying to find him a home — is expected to bring more options.
A state-mandated committee tasked with consulting on where convicted sex offender Michael Cheek should live in Santa Cruz County did not identify any viable housing options at its meeting on Thursday, prolonging a process that has already gone on for about four years.
Cheek, 71, is a twice-convicted rapist who has been in custody since 1981, and at a Fresno County state hospital for the past 26 years. He was convicted of kidnapping a 21-year-old woman from Seacliff State Beach and raping her at gunpoint. He did the same thing to a 15-year-old girl in Lake County a year later after escaping custody.
Cheek was cleared by the state for conditional release in 2019. But his path to reintegrating into society has been a struggle. Liberty Healthcare Corporation, the state contractor tasked with trying to find Cheek a home and provide follow-up services, has so far been unsuccessful in doing so. Every proposed location, such as Butte and San Mateo counties, has been promptly shut down by pushback from community and law enforcement.
Cheek has accused authorities of violating his civil rights by keeping him in a state hospital for years after he was ordered released. “I’ve been [in custody] for [nearly] 45 years. I don’t know why my due process or liberty interest rights are not being considered here,” Cheek told a court hearing last month.
Cheek attorney Stephen Prekoski had requested a court approve a “transient release,” which would have allowed Cheek to be placed in the community without a permanent place to live, including potentially in a recreational vehicle purchased by the state and placed on land owned by the county.
They couldn’t have much better security than having him in an RV on county property. The general public wouldn’t have access, LE would know that he would most likely be the only person living on the property, and they could keep eyes on him more than if he were in a residential area or apartment. That seems like a win for everyone to me.