Marin County Fights Rapist’s Release

SAN FRANCISCO —  Marin County prosecutors Wednesday asked a judge to keep a career rapist confined to a state hospital for at least another two years--setting up a legal showdown over the state’s controversial sexual predator program.

Patrick Ghilotti, a 45-year-old convicted rapist who has spent more than half his life locked up, was the first inmate to complete a program designed to crack down on repeat sex offenders.

Wednesday’s filing will keep Ghilotti confined at Atascadero State Hospital until a court ruling is issued on the case. He was scheduled to be released Saturday.

If Superior Court Judge Stephen Graham agrees with prosecutors, Ghilotti will be entitled to a jury trial that could determine at what point an offender has paid his debt to society, officials said.

Under the state’s tough sexually violent predator law, passed in 1996, state officials can recommit offenders every two years until they no longer are deemed a threat.

After serving two prison terms for rape, Ghilotti was sent to Atascadero in 1998 and had already served two years more than his original sentence when he petitioned for release last year. In October, the eight-time rapist refused a chance to be released under an outpatient treatment program. Though he agreed to be fitted with a global positioning device to track his movements and take testosterone-lowering drugs, Ghilotti objected to terms that included limited visits with his wife and no use of the Internet.

The move sent state officials scrambling to keep Ghilotti at Atascadero. Under state law, he can be released if two independent evaluators determine that he is no longer a threat.

But although two evaluators said Ghilotti was ready to rejoin society, state Department of Mental Health officials Tuesday asked the Marin County district attorney to file papers to keep Ghilotti in custody.

Marin County Deputy Dist. Atty. Alan Charmatz said officials have reviewed Ghilotti’s case and believe “there is sufficient reason to file by the fact that the director of the Department of Mental Health believes the defendant should be recommitted despite the fact that there are evaluations contrary to his opinion.”

He said it was rare that state officials would go against the findings of their independent evaluators. “For us, the issue is whether he is still a sexually violent predator under the meaning of the law,” he said. “There’s a unique legal issue to be litigated in court in relation to whether or not Mr. Ghilotti’s commitment can be extended.”

State officials said they were pleased with Marin County’s decision.

“We’re very glad, as I’m sure are many members of Marin community,” said Nora Romero, a state Department of Mental Health spokeswoman. “Our position all along has been that he is not ready to reenter society.”

But Ghilotti, reached by telephone Wednesday at Atascadero State Hospital, criticized the move.

“I’m devastated that the district attorney would move ahead with this even though he knows it’s bogus,” he said. “State evaluators say I’m ready for release, but the state is ignoring them. The people who create the laws aren’t even following their own rules.”