Editor’s note: Be advised, this story covers violent sexual assaults and may be disturbing to readers.
A sexually violent predator in the process of appealing a Humboldt County Superior Court judge’s decision last year to reverse course on his previously granted conditional release has died.
Dubbed the “Ski Mask Rapist,” Richard Stobaugh was convicted of a series of rapes, home invasions and assaults in the region during the 1980s, and suspected in others, including one case never prosecuted because the victim was too traumatized to testify and later died by suicide, according to court documents.
According to the Fresno County Coroner’s Office, Stobaugh died on Sept. 10 of what appears to be “natural causes” at Coalinga State Hospital, where he had been committed for more than a decade after being deemed a sexually violent predator under a civil process dictated by state law. He was 70.
The California Department of State Hospitals declined comment, stating it was “prohibited from releasing any information about current or former patients of our hospitals” under “federal and state patient privacy laws.”
Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal, an ardent opponent of Stobaugh’s return to the community once set on edge by his brutal attacks that often involved weapons, did not mince words, writing in an email to the Journal, “I will be frank when it comes to Richard Stobaugh, I am happy he is dead.”
“Stobaugh was actively trying to be released back into our community. He was a sexually violent predator who preyed upon innocent women in Humboldt County and left victims and families with scars that will never fully heal,” Honsal wrote. “His death brings at least one measure of relief and certainty to those survivors. Richard Stobaugh will never again walk freely in the community he terrorized, and he will never have the opportunity to victimize another woman.”
Stobaugh served 24 years in prison after pleading guilty in 1988 to six felony counts of kidnapping and rape by force, including the rape by force of a woman who was seven months pregnant and the rape by force of a 71-year-old woman after breaking into their homes just weeks apart, before being transferred to the state hospital.
Under state law, Stobaugh had the right to petition to end his involuntary commitment, which he did unsuccessfully until late 2023 when Humboldt County Superior Court Judge Kaleb Cockrum ordered he be placed in a one-year conditional release program.
That set in motion a months-long search by the state to secure housing for Stobaugh outside of custody, resulting in a single-family home in Manila being selected last year as a potential site. In response, the sheriff’s office and Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office launched an outreach effort, including a town hall meeting aimed at informing residents how to advocate for themselves and their community during the process.
During a May of 2025 court hearing on the suitability of the location, Cockrum acknowledged the courtroom was packed by those in opposition, saying he understood they were there due to the “horrible, violent” things Stobaugh had done.
And, as previously reported by the Journal, the judge explained that the petition he granted, unlike others rejected in the past, “had the backing and support of the state hospital,” meaning Stobaugh’s treatment team believed he had made progress and could be safely released with monitoring and continued treatment.
Cockrum explained that when a petition for release is filed with the backing of the state hospital, 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.
He also noted that 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, which the district attorney’s office opposed.
Due to a procedural issue, the placement proceeding ended up being delayed but Cockrum set a separate hearing to vet allegations brought forward by the DA’s Office that Stobaugh 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.
Following testimony and evidence presented on the issue during a day-long proceeding that July, Cockrum vacated his previous order and Stobaugh remained in state custody. He was in the process of appealing that decision when he died.
In a release at the time, District Attorney Stacey Eads said that her office’s priority “has always been protecting the safety and well-being of our community.”
“We are grateful that the residents of Humboldt County — especially those in the Manila area — will not have to bear the burden of housing a sexually violent predator,” she said. Eads declined to comment on Stobaugh’s death.
In his email to the Journal, Honsal expressed his frustration at the legal framework that allowed Stobaugh to come so close to returning to Humboldt.
“I remain outraged that California law and our judicial system allowed a predator like Richard Stobaugh the opportunity to seek release back into this community,” he wrote. “There is something wrong with our judicial system that repeatedly forces survivors to relive their trauma and fight to keep a sexually violent predator from returning to the same community where he committed his crimes.
“Our laws need to change. The Legislature, the governor, and our courts need to hear from survivors and recognize the consequences these decisions have on victims and communities,” Honsal continued. “The safety and well-being of survivors must carry greater weight when decisions are made about whether a sexually violent predator should ever be released back into society.”
“Richard Stobaugh no longer poses a threat to this community. For his victims and their families, I hope that knowledge brings some measure of peace.”
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.
Kimberly Wear is the Journal’s assistant editor. Reach her at (707) 442-1400, or kim@northcoastjournal.com.
This article appears in Xine:wh-ding.
