A hearing to determine whether a residence in Manila is a suitable placement for a sexually violent predator ordered released from a state hospital into a community supervision program has been rescheduled for July.
But before deciding on a suitable placement for Richard Stobaugh, who was convicted of a series of brutal attacks in the 1980s before being classified as a sexually violent predator by the state in 2012, Humboldt County Superior Court Judge Kaleb Cockrum deemed it appropriate to hold a separate hearing to vet an allegation that the man dubbed the “ski mask rapist” was found in possession of child pornography at Coalinga State Hospital in 2019 and concealed that information from the treatment team that ultimately recommended he be released.
Today’s hearing, scheduled to decide whether a single-family home in the 2100 block of Peninsula Drive, drew a packed courtroom of concerned community members, with dozens of people denied entry because the room was at capacity.
After some brief housekeeping matters, Cockrum addressed the courtroom, offering an extended monologue detailing the case’s history and relevant law.
“There is a lot of anger, and a lot of fear and a lot of misinformation,” Cockrum said about the case, adding that while he couldn’t take away all of the fear and anger, he could address the misinformation.
Cockrum said all those gathered in the courtroom this morning where there because of the “horrible, violent” things Stobaugh had done, noting he’s a convicted rapist and a designated sexually violent predator. Cockrum then briefly recapped Stobaugh’s convictions from the 1980s: the violent rape of a teenage college student, binding and raping a pregnant woman, sodomizing a 25-year-old woman and raping a 71-year-old woman by force.
The judge then said Stobaugh had served the entirety of the prison sentence handed down to him for these offenses when, in 2012, the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office successfully petitioned to have him deemed a sexually violent predator and involuntarily committed to a state hospital for treatment. Once designated a sexually violent predator, Cockrum explained individuals can petition for their release, noting that some will be released after years of treatment while “many will remain committed for their entire life.” But Cockrum noted the sexually violent predator system is not a punitive one, saying its dual legal focus is treatment of the individual and maintaining public safety.
Late last year, Stobaugh petitioned the court for his release. But unlike his previous petitions that were rejected, Cockrum said this petition “had the backing and support of the state hospital,” meaning Stobaugh’s treatment team felt he had shown progress in addressing his underlying mental illness and that he could be safely released and put under a system of in-community supervision.
When a petition for release is filed with the backing of the state hospital, Cockrum said the burden of proof shifts to the prosecution, who need to show by a preponderance of evidence that the individual’s release would pose an immediate threat to public safety.
Cockrum said when Stobaugh’s petition came to a hearing in December, only two witnesses were called — one by prosecutors and one by Stobaugh’s attorney. Both, Cockrum said, testified that Stobaugh had made significant progress. According to the judge, one testified that Stobaugh had expressed guilt and shame at his conduct, evidenced insight into why he’d committed the offenses, successfully completed multiple stages of treatment and passed a polygraph exam about his sexual urges. The other, Cockrum said, similarly testified that Stobaugh had progressed through treatment, had no recent rules violations at the hospital and that his advanced age — he’s now in his 70s — reduced his threat of reoffending.
Both, Cockrum said, concluded Stobaugh was a good candidate for release into community supervision, which includes 24-hour GPS monitoring, mandatory weekly therapy, drug testing, residential surveillance and regular polygraph exams.
With all that in mind, Cockrum said he granted Stobaugh’s petition for conditional release, noting the law does not allow a judge to “substitute his own opinion for that of the experts” and that no witness had testified Stobaugh was not a suitable candidate for release.
And with that ruling in place, “the law says Mr. Stobaugh now has a right to liberty” and due process rights, Cockrum told the packed courtroom. “This is a case of competing rights. Mr. Stobaugh can’t stay in jail forever and the community also has a right to safety.”
The task before the court now was to find a suitable placement for Mr. Stobaugh, Cockrum said, noting that the Manila residence was the first one a contractor for the Department of State Hospitals, Liberty Healthcare Co., could find that was willing to rent to it under the circumstances and that passed an initial screening.
His lengthy address over, Cockrum then turned the matter over to attorneys for comment on whether they were ready to proceeding with the hearing.
Jane Hu, representing the Department of State Hospitals (DSH), then told the court she received more than 130 correspondences submitted by community members from the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office on Friday, and another batch of 350 pages of correspondences yesterday. She noted the statute requires such documents be turned over 10 days in advance of a hearing, noting it’s DSH’s obligation to review and consider public comment, modifying its supervision plans as necessary to address reasonable issues brought forward. She requested a continuance of a minimum of 30 days.
Humboldt County Public Defender Luke Brownfield, representing Stobaugh, said he had no objection and would enjoin the request.
Deputy District Attorney Whitney Timm then said she was ready to proceed, noting the number of community members that had shown up to address the court and saying she expects written comment will continue arriving “day by day.” She then began to say something about “the real reason” DSH was requesting a continuance before Cockrum cut her off, saying the court would get to that but it wasn’t the immediate matter.
“We’re ready to proceed today,” Timm responded.
Cockrum noted “we’re all under a lot of stress” and said he didn’t want to “embarrass the DA’s Office” before saying that while the law requires it to “compile and consolidate” public input, it had failed to do that in its filings. Specifically, Cockrum charged the DA’s Office had provided duplicate emails that weren’t page numbered, making it difficult for litigants to reference specific comments, and that its filing had included 10 pages of emails with a “confidential victim” in an unrelated case.
“This is not what I would consider consolidated,” he said.
Timm responded that her office had been submitting correspondences from multiple agencies, which caused the duplications, before again alleging DSH had an ulterior motive for requesting a continuance. She alleged that Stobaugh had been caught by Coalinga State Hospital police in possession of child pornography in 2018 and then had hidden that from his treatment team and the psychologists that testified before the court on his petition for release. Timm continued that she’d spoken to Hu about the matter, who indicated DSH planned to “check in” with Stobaugh’s treatment team and conduct another polygraph examination on the matter.
At no point did Timm explain what evidence her office had indicating Stobaugh had been in possession of pornographic images of minors.
“He can’t even be supervised effectively in the state hospital, what makes us think he can be effectively monitored in the community?” she asked.
When Cockrum turned to Hu for a response, she said Coalinga State Hospital is a medical facility, bound by HIPPA protections for its clients, and she consequently wasn’t able to discuss details about his conduct or treatment.
Brownfield then commented that this is an issue that has been litigated, referencing the petition hearing in December.
Cockrum then noted he believes the public interest in this case supersedes Stobaugh’s privacy rights, but later noted that while the DA’s Office asked witnesses questions about the child pornography possession allegation at the December hearing, no evidence was presented to support them. But if there is evidence to support such allegations, Cockrum indicated it would obligate him to re-weigh his decision to grant Stobaugh’s petition for conditional release.
“If it is child pornography, the court has to consider a whole new class of victims in this case,” he said.
Cockrum then set a hearing for 8:30 a.m. on May 21 to litigate the child pornography allegation, saying parties would have the opportunity to call witnesses and present evidence, as that matter needs to be settled before a placement hearing can be held.
He then set the placement hearing for 8:30 a.m. on July 14 to give DSH ample time to provide public notice. Cockrum asked DSH to be prepared to respond to three issues already raised by community members: the proposed residence’s proximity to a planned rails-to-trails project, contingency plans for monitoring during power outages or natural disasters and the home’s proximity to Friends of the Dunes facilities that run educational programs for thousands of local students annually.
Cockrum granted Timm’s request that community members be given an opportunity to address the court at the placement hearing but in a limited fashion. Cockrum noted that no statute requires him to take public input or prohibits him from doing so, but said “misinformation” spread in this case made him feel compelled to allow for some community comment. Specifically, he noted a county press release about the case urged residents to email him directly to weigh in, which is legally prohibited, saying that essentially “disenfranchised” some community members looking to have their voices heard.
As such, he said he would allow a maximum of two hours of community comment at the placement hearing, limiting speakers to a maximum of two minutes apiece.
“This is a court hearing,” he said. “It’s not a town hall meeting.”
Editor’s note: The North Coast Rape Crisis Team, a local nonprofit dedicated to ending sexualized violence, operates a 24-hour hotline, (707) 445-2881 in Humboldt County and (707) 465-2851 in Trinity County], and offers a variety of support, counseling and advocacy services.
This article appears in From Garden to Table in the Hall.
