SACRAMENTO, Calif — A Placer County Superior Court judge granted an convicted sex offender conditional transient release into Placer County.
According to a statement from the Placer County District Attorney's Office, William Stephenson will be placed into an RV provided by Liberty Healthcare, who said in the release that "money is no object."
Stephenson, 66, was originally expected to be relocated to Amador County but ultimately a ruling from a judge had officials search for a location in Placer County. On July 17, Stephenson was granted conditional transient release. The decision came after a three-hour hearing with the district attorney's office in opposition.
Concerns from the district attorney's office included the judge's original decision in 2022 to grant Stephenson conditional release despite public safety concerns, Stephenson's crimes that put him in the sexually violent predator program not taking place in Placer County, the failure rate for transient status with sexually violent predators and Stephenson's traditional release in 2014 that failed.
"The Placer County District Attorney’s Office will continue to oppose the transient release of Mr. Stephenson. The Placer County District Attorney’s Office will also pursue legislation prohibiting the transient release of individuals deemed to be sexually violent. Additionally, the Office will request to participate in the current state audit of the state Sexually Violent Predator program authored by California State Senator Brian Jones," the district attorney's office told ABC10 in a statement.
"While I am pleased that Stephenson will not be placed in Amador County where he has no connection and would place children at risk, being released as a transient in Placer County in a residential vehicle doesn’t appear to be the best solution to the problem of SVP placements either. However, a major unresolved issue is that the Department of State Hospitals, in through their vendor Liberty Healthcare, continues to retain the lease of Amador County residence where Stephenson was to have been placed. This puts Amador County at risk for yet another future SVP placement," wrote Amador County District Attorney Todd Riebe in a statement to ABC10.
According to the online legal research tool Casetext.com., Stephenson has a long criminal history, including convictions of sexually assaulting two women at a nude beach while threatening them with a knife.
The location of Stephenson’s placement will be addressed during a hearing on Sept. 1, 2023.
