CA- Judge rules child molesters can share house

6-21-2008 California:

SAN DIEGO – Two convicted child molesters classified as “sexually violent predators” can share a house under 24-hour supervision in the rural East County community of Jacumba, a judge ruled Friday.

David Mark Chambless, 47, and Gary Gene Snavely, 45, will be placed in a single-story home at 45612 Old Highway 80 on or before July 10, the judge ordered.

Several Jacumba residents who attended the public hearing said they were outraged by the decision.
“It's disgusting,” Lynn Hitchcock said.

San Diego Superior Court Judge David M. Gill ruled in December that the men wouldn't be a danger to the public if properly supervised. Friday, he said it was “reasonable and appropriate under the circumstances” to allow Chambless and Snavely to live in the rural community where they would receive outpatient mental treatment.

Chambless and Snavely will be monitored through global positioning devices and prohibited from entering the center of Jacumba, said Jayne Shale, executive director of Liberty Health Care – the firm responsible for providing treatment and supervision for the two men.

“We are aware that we need to keep the safety of the community forefront in our minds,” Shale said.

Hitchcock and others said they were worried that Chambless and Snavely would have easy access to children who walk along Old Highway 80.

The house is within two miles of Jacumba Elementary School, the Jacumba Community Park and the community library. It also is within 500 yards of the Mexican border.

Lorrie Ostrander said she feared that allowing Chambless and Snavely to live in Jacumba would lead to other sex offenders being placed in her community.

“They're walking time bombs,” Ostrander said outside the courtroom. “All it takes is something to set them off.”

Chambless was convicted in 1990 of molesting two girls, ages 7 and 9, and was sentenced to 16 years in prison.

Snavely was convicted in 1987 of molesting two girls, ages 8 and 9, in Orange County and sentenced to three years in prison. He was convicted in 1996 in San Diego County of failing to register as a sex offender.

Both men were initially sent to Atascadero State Hospital in San Luis Obispo County after serving their prison terms. They were later transferred to Coalinga State Hospital in Fresno County.

State law requires sexually violent predators to return to the county where they committed their crimes after a lengthy treatment program at a state hospital. A predator is defined as someone convicted of a violent sex crime who has been diagnosed with a mental disorder.

“These two men have earned the right to be released into the community,” Deputy Public Defender Marian Gaston told the judge.

Deputy District Attorney Phyllis Shess said she shared the residents' concerns.

“We fought tooth and nail trying to keep them from being released,” Shess said. “We think they should stay in the hospital getting treatment.” ..News Source.. by Ray Huard