California Sheriff Opposes Housing Convicted Sex Offender Near Girl Scout Camp

A California sheriff is challenging a proposal to place a convicted rapist in a taxpayer-funded rental home near a Girl Scout camp.

State officials are weighing whether to move 74-year-old Michael Thomas Cheek from a secure psychiatric facility to a rental property valued at more than $800,000 in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Santa Cruz County Sheriff Chris Clark told News Media that the proposed home is located near a Girl Scout camp and several schools. He also cautioned that the region’s steep, rugged terrain could slow deputies if Cheek were accused of another offense.

“The community for which he’s being considered to be released, it’s a really tight-knit community,” Clark said. “It’s not necessarily the easiest place for us to get to you know if and when something were to happen.”

Clark said the proposed residence is within a few miles of a Girl Scout camp and multiple schools—locations he called “obviously concerning.”

The sheriff also raised doubts about whether electronic monitoring could function consistently in the isolated mountain community.

“When you talk about our mountain communities, it’s not uncommon that during the winter, you know, these folks lose power. The cell connectivity is extremely poor up there. And so, when you think about monitoring him electronically, how effective are those systems if you have no electricity? And how about if people can’t call for help if they suspect Mr. Cheek is up to something when cell service is poor?”

Cheek was convicted in 1980 of raping a young woman at gunpoint. After later escaping from the Contra Costa County jail, he raped a 15-year-old girl at gunpoint.

After his convictions, Cheek was classified as a sexually violent predator.

He completed a sex offender treatment program at a psychiatric facility in 2019. Two previous efforts to place him in Santa Cruz County were unsuccessful.

“Mr. Cheek has no tie to our county. He’s not from Santa Cruz County. And so his only tie here is that he frankly abducted somebody and raped them. And so he victimized people here. And so to me, it is completely unfair and shouldn’t be the case where a county that somebody’s victimized people is then burdened with the thought of having to house him here in one of the most expensive places frankly in the country to live, which we are,” Clark said.

A superior court judge is scheduled to hear arguments about Cheek’s proposed housing on Oct. 30.

News Media contacted Cheek’s attorney for comment.