Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].
The input of San Mateo County citizens will be crucial in the Santa Cruz County Superior Court's decision on an order to allow 69-year-old Michael Thomas Cheek, who was convicted as a violent sexual predator by a jury in 2009, to reside in Redwood City as part of his reintegration into society.
"Residents have a choice as to whether they want this person to come forward. We are passing information about this on the social networks of the County Sheriff's Office and the Redwood City Police Department, because we want to inform the community that they have the right to give their opinion about this order and about the return of this sex offender to the community," said Salvador Zuno, of the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office.
In an interview for Peninsula 360 Press, the element highlighted that both the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office and the Redwood City Police agree that this "sexually violent predator" should not settle in the community they protect.
"We do not agree with this order because, for us, the safety and well-being of our community is the most important thing," he said.
For Redwood City and county residents to provide feedback on the attempted order, they can send an email to SVP_publiccomments@smcgov.org or call (650) 304 22 04, where they will be heard and listened to.
He also called on all those concerned about Mr. Cheek's possible arrival in the community to appear on March 1 at 9:00 a.m. in Courtroom 66 of the Santa Cruz Superior Court, 701 Ocean Street, Santa Cruz, where the hearing will be held.
In 1980, Michael Thomas Cheek was convicted in Santa Cruz County, California, of kidnapping, raping and oral copulation of a 21-year-old woman, for which he was sentenced to 20 years in state prison.
In 1981, he was also convicted in Lake County for the forcible rape of a 15-year-old boy with the use of a firearm.
By August 13, 1997, he was committed to the Department of State Hospitals in Coalinga, CA. And in 2009, a jury found Cheek to be a sexually violent predator under the Welfare and Institutions Code.
While Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Stephen Siegel ordered Cheek's conditional release on Oct. 7, 2019, to begin treatment and outpatient supervision as part of the final phase of the relapse prevention program administered by the Department of State Hospitals in Coalinga.
