After learning Los Gatos woman’s attacker was moving in, neighbors create a homeschool that keeps him out
A fourth bid to place a sexually violent predator in Northern California was blocked after Santa Cruz County neighbors created a small school near his proposed home.
A court order to block the release of Michael Cheek to Bonny Doon was allowed to stand by the state’s Supreme Court.
In January, an appeals court had overturned the placement of Cheek in the neighborhood, citing the presence of a school within a quarter-mile of the Iris Lane home. The court said it made no difference that the homeschool was established after neighbors learned in 2021 that Cheek was to live in the community.
Cheek, now 71, was convicted in 1980 of kidnapping a 21-year-old Los Gatos woman from Seabright State Beach and raping her. His 20-year prison sentence was delayed while he was moved to Contra Costa County for a hearing related to his probation from a 1979 car theft. He escaped from custody there and raped a 15-year-old girl in Lake County. He was recaptured, and in 1981 he was convicted of that crime and sentenced to an additional 11 years.
In 1997, when his parole date neared, he was declared a sexually violent predator and committed to a state hospital. His supervised release, ordered in 2019, has been delayed by a series of battles over where he might live.
Butte County: In early 2020, Liberty Healthcare, which supervises outpatient placement for the state hospitals, proposed that Cheek live in his sister’s home in Berry Creek. The county district attorney and sheriff objected, saying the home was too close to a school, and the sister withdrew her consent. (Both the home and the school were destroyed by the Bear Fire later that year.)
San Mateo County: In February 2021, it was announced that Cheek would rent a room in a house on Hillcrest Drive in the unincorporated Emerald Hills neighborhood, near Redwood City. Amid community uproar, the homeowner withdrew the offer.
Santa Cruz County: The Bonny Doon placement was announced to the community in July 2021 and confirmed by a ruling of Superior Court Judge Syda Cogliati in November of that year, but Cheek’s move-in date was delayed to allow legal challenges. The petition to the appellate court cited the existence of a private school that was launched in August 2021. It had four full-time students in January 2023, when the Sixth Appellate District court said Cheek could not be released to Bonny Doon. It was that ruling that the state Supreme Court declined to reconsider last month.
Back to Butte County: In January 2023, a proposal was issued to place Cheek in a home at 1550 Gate Lane in Paradise. When the police and district attorney were informed in February, they challenged the order and scheduled a community meeting. On Feb. 23, the police announced that Liberty Healthcare had dropped the request for the Paradise placement.
Back to Santa Cruz County: Cogliati has directed state officials to limit their search for Cheek’s conditional housing placement to Santa Cruz County. The initial determination on his candidacy for release had designated six counties: Santa Cruz, Butte, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Monterey and San Benito.
A hearing on the possibility of his “transient release” — without a set location — is scheduled for July.