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A sheriff in California is fighting a plan that would place a convicted rapist in a taxpayer-funded rental home that’s located near a Girl Scout camp.
State officials are weighing a plan to transfer Michael Thomas Cheek, 74, from a locked psychiatric facility to a rental home valued at more than $800,000 in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Santa Cruz County Sheriff Chris Clark told Fox News Digital the property is near a Girl Scout camp and schools, and that the rugged terrain could make it more difficult for deputies to respond if Cheek were to commit another crime.
“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.”
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Michael Thomas Cheek, 74, was convicted of raping two victims at gunpoint, including a 15-year-old girl. State officials are considering placing him in a rental home in the Santa Cruz Mountains. (Paradise Police Department)
The sheriff said the proposed rental property is located within a few miles of a Girl Scout camp and schools, which he calls “obviously concerning.”
Clark also says he has concerns about how Cheek would be monitored electronically.
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“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?”
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A view of a community in the Santa Cruz Mountains, where officials are weighing a proposal to house convicted rapist Michael Thomas Cheek in a rental property near a Girl Scout camp and schools. (Halbergman/Getty Images)
In 1980, Cheek was convicted of raping a young woman at gunpoint. He subsequently escaped from the Contra Costa County jail and raped a 15-year-old girl at gunpoint.
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Cheek was classified as a sexually violent predator after being convicted.
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He completed a sex offender treatment program located at a psychiatric facility in 2019, but two attempts previously failed that would have put him in Santa Cruz County.
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Santa Cruz County Sheriff Chris Clark is opposing a proposal to house convicted rapist Michael Thomas Cheek in a taxpayer-funded rental property located just miles from a Girl Scout camp. (Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office)
“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 of the convicted rapist.
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A superior court judge will hear arguments for Cheek’s proposed housing on Oct. 30.
Fox News Digital reached out to Cheek’s attorney for comment.