MORGAN HILL
– A judge and attorneys will address the question of Brian
DeVries this afternoon in attempt to find a suitable location to
release the convicted child molester who has served his time, been
castrated and completed a state program for sexual predators.
MORGAN HILL – A judge and attorneys will address the question of Brian DeVries this afternoon in attempt to find a suitable location to release the convicted child molester who has served his time, been castrated and completed a state program for sexual predators.
Two weeks ago it looked as if the location might be Morgan Hill, at 865 W. Main Ave., within a few blocks of schools, the library, day care centers, the YMCA, churches and hundreds of children. Following a hastily organized outcry by citizens, police and city officials who discovered the state Depart-ment of Mental Health was negotiating with the property’s landlord, Superior Court Judge Robert Baines instructed the DMH to broaden its search to include the entire state.
It has been state policy, but not law, to release prisoners back into the county where they most recently lived, Baines explained.
While it is in no way certain that DeVries will be coming to Morgan Hill, the city may still be under consideration, judging from the discussion at last week’s hearing. Susan King, attorney for the DMH, objected to the judge’s instructions to broaden the search, though she said the department would comply.
When asked Monday why such a child-intense area would have been thought suitable, Nora Romero, spokeswoman for the DMH, said this week that the state’s parole board has set four basic requirements for appropriate residential sites.
The residence should be at least one-quarter mile from any elementary school, near a bus stop, with further treatment available in the area and within reasonable distance for the convict to reach work. The home at 865 W. Main Ave. fits that description though it just squeaked by the distance from schools requirement.
The small house is just barely more than one-quarter mile from P.A. Walsh and St. Catherine’s schools, according to a test by a Times reporter and confirmed by Lt. Terrie Booten of the Morgan Hill Police. The Morgan Hill Public Library is closer, but not on the parole board’s list of places to avoid.
DeVries is currently jailed at the Atascadero State Mental Facility for the Criminal Insane where he is labeled a “sexually violent predator.” He was convicted of molesting an 8-year-old boy in 1994 and had been previously convicted in several other states, starting in 1978. During his treatment he admitted to doctors molesting as many as 50 boys. In August 2002, DeVries was physically castrated, at his own request, and has since fulfilled a program for “sexually violent predators,” the first to do so in the new California program.
Romero said that, under the law that created the program in 1995, if no suitable location is found for DeVries’ conditional release, where he would be closely monitored, supervised and undergo further treatment, he would receive an unconditional release.
In that case, DeVries would live where he wanted. Under Megan’s Law, as a convicted sexual offender, he would be required to register with local police.
“The purpose of the program is to protect the public,” Romero said.
Brian Matthews, DeVries’ public defender, urged a quick release for his client at the June 18 hearing. He said he was concerned that, because DeVries had finished his sentence and was still jailed simply because the state could not find a community that would take him, the matter of constitutionality arose.
Romero said Morgan Hill was not the only site considered by the DMH.
“We’ve already been ejected from one location in San Jose,” she said. “We’ve looked at and rejected over 60 sites throughout the county, but we are still looking at all the communities. Our responsibility now is to find a place for him in the community.”
Morgan Hill had three days’ notice before the June 18 release hearing in Baines’ courtroom and only heard the news from an anonymous flyer that began circulating the Sunday before. Even the police and city officials were not notified, though, Baines said, it is permissible that a contract can be signed and the judge notified before the public is told.
“I was in shock,” said Michelle Majjasie who lives close to 865 West Main Ave. “I have two boys, 12 and 8; the neighbors have three children, with one on the way. There are children all over the neighborhood.”
Neighbor Cara Saich questioned the need to place DeVries in a residential area at all.
“Why don’t they use the million dollars (the program cost for DeVries) for a group home,” she said. “They have homes for drug addicts and alcoholics; they could do the same thing for him. He has family in Washington, and he has said that he wants to go home. Why not send him home? It’s just government bureaucracy.”
Another neighbor, who asked not to be identified, at first thought the rumors of DeVries’ release to her street were a joke.
“It was the most absurd thing ever,” she said. “We thought that someone was making a practical joke. The (DMH) felt that they could just dump him here quietly. I learned through the Internet that the company (Liberty Healthcare) handling this, does not have a good standing in tracking criminals.”
“Our big gun was the city attorney. If it wasn’t for her, things would not have turned out this way. It was kind of scary.”
“They wouldn’t have notified the police before he moved in, but rather after.”
Even though Baines said previously that DeVries would not be released on June 27 and he would be hearing from the DMH about its progress searching for a release site, his courtroom is expected to be crowded.
Neighbor Kevin Jordan said he would attend the hearing.
“All the neighbors went to the (June 18) hearing,” he said. “We made tons of phone calls. Everyone was aware. Once we found out, we said that there could be no way that this could happen. It was a bombshell discovery. Everyone who went to the last hearing will go to the next one.”
