Judge prevents sexually violent offenders from being housed in rural Turlock area

MODESTO – Convicted child molester Kevin Scott Gray can be released from a state hospital, a Stanislaus County judge ruled, but not from his planned residence on North Central Avenue outside Turlock city limits.

Judge Carrie M. Stephens ruled Monday that Gray, 72, could be released from the California Department of State Hospitals in Coalinga under conditions that a state doctor had recommended in 2020. District Attorney Jeff Laugero sought to have that order overturned.

But a second hearing on Monday concluded that the proposed release site on North Central Avenue was too close to a private school, ruling that apartment out as a possible home for Gray and another convicted child abuser, 61-year-old Timothy Roger Weathers.

Modesto attorney Martin Baker, who represents both men, told the judge he plans to file a motion for a temporary restraining order and appeal the decision. Baker declined a request from the Turlock Journal for further comment.

“We pursued two avenues,” Laugero said. “We challenged the conditional release and we also challenged the placement. The conditional release would have been more challenging for us, but it was a good opportunity for us to raise what we thought was problematic and what the doctors were relying on in forming their opinion.”

Candace Gonsalves, a Turlock resident, has been following the case since she learned that convicted child molesters in her neighborhood could be released. She was a little disheartened when she heard about the potential appeal.

“I know our district attorney is doing everything he can,” Gonsalves said. “Obviously, I would have liked to see this implemented, but that will probably never happen. It’s just a workaround. So we’ll fight somewhere else.”

Depending on the outcome of the appeal, Gray and Weathers could ultimately live at the North Central Avenue address or possibly another location in Stanislaus County.

Liberty Healthcare, which contracts with the state through its conditional release program and has advocated for the release of both men, will continue to pay rent for the North Central residence.

Earlier this year, Gray was scheduled to be released in rural Merced County, just outside Turlock. When authorities learned that Gray’s planned address there was just a quarter-mile from a private school, Stephens reversed his decision.

Gray’s crimes date back to 1974. According to court documents, he admitted to sexually molesting 25 children and committing 1,000 acts of indecent assault involving female victims between the ages of 8 and 11.

Weathers was convicted of child molestation in San Diego County and sentenced to probation. Two years later, still on probation, he was convicted of child molestation in Stanislaus County. According to a report in the Ceres Courier, he was sentenced to 18 years in prison in 1991. He admitted to state doctors that he had molested 20 to 45 boys.

Weathers was denied conditional release by Stephens in December 2022.

Gonsalves said she has contacted California lawmakers and expressed a desire for stricter laws regarding the release of sex offenders.

“We need to see change at the state level,” Gonsalves said. “We need more transparency for the public. I’m not an expert in this area, but the current law gives the public very little time to prepare for what could potentially happen, and I believe that’s intentional. We should be able to be more proactive rather than reactive. That just seems reasonable to me.”