San Diego County Supervisor Bill Horn and nine Borrego Springs residents asked a Superior Court judge Friday to keep a sexually violent predator from being placed in the desert community.
Terry Stone, who was convicted on three separate occasions of committing lewd and lascivious acts against five different victims between the ages of 6 and 11, has been granted a conditional release from a state hospital.
The pedophile was sentenced in 1994 to 19 years in prison for his crimes.
A decision to place the 63-year-old Stone in a four-bedroom home on Frying Pan Road has been disputed by residents. Hundreds turned out for a recent rally at the town's park, Christmas Tree Circle.
Judge Frederick Maguire said the distance from the proposed residence to the park could be one of the factors he takes into consideration before he makes a decision. He said he would visit the community at an unspecified time prior to another hearing set for May 20.
While law enforcement has found that the park is at least 2,000 feet from the residence, residents who spoke Friday contended it is less than that distance. Deputy District Attorney Kristen Spieler said authorities are not bound by a 2,000-foot distance requirement since Stone is not on probation, but it is a standard the judge can consider.
Horn expressed his "strong opposition" to Stone's release in a community with a population of only a couple thousand residents that fluctuates depending on the time of year.
"It's not a matter of if this predator will strike again; it's a matter of when he will strike again," Horn said.
He said the placement would reduce the "vitality" of a "family-friendly tourist destination."
Kelly Roach Claar, a former law enforcement officer with three children, said the park, a library, churches and homes where children live are all within a short walk from the proposed residence. Also, the community doesn't have streetlights to allow people to better view the stars -- but that means the area is dark at night, she said.
Other residents said Stone would not be welcomed by the community, would not be allowed to shop in area businesses, and would lack nearby access to social services that he needs to be successful outside of an institution.
"Placing Terry Stone in Borrego Springs is a lose-lose situation," Roach Claar said.
Kym Caudle of Liberty Healthcare, which contracts with the state to find places for sexually violent predators to live and get continued treatment, said Stone will wear a GPS monitor and have 24-hour supervision -- though such conditions could be changed at some point in the future.
He won't be allowed at parks or schools, she said.
According to Caudle, her company looked at nearly 700 properties for Stone and another man in San Diego County. Stone was originally slated to go to a residence in Spring Valley before Liberty Healthcare settled on the Borrego Springs location.
Stone was committed to a state hospital in 2003 after his release from prison. Last year, he sought his conditional release from the hospital, and in December, a judge ruled that he could be safely released back into the community for continued treatment and supervision.
