’Extremely concerning.’ Placer residents express outrage at hearing over release of sex predator

Placer County and state officials are still at a stalemate after a court hearing Friday over where to place a convicted sexually violent predator who is set to be released.

An hourlong hearing yielded no firm placement for the release of William Stephenson, 67, an inmate in the custody of the Department of State Hospitals. Stephenson was granted conditional release as a transient by the court earlier this year, despite strong opposition from the Placer County District Attorney’s Office and other county officials.

Stephenson was convicted in 1991 of sexual battery, oral copulation by force or fear, assault and sexual penetration of victim with foreign object by force, according to California’s Megan’s Law database.

He was last released in 2014 and arrested again 2017 in Roseville for possession of child pornography, according to previous Bee reporting.

Dozens of Placer County residents attended the hearing, many wearing red to show solidarity against Stephenson’s release.

Placer Superior Court Judge Garen Host said he stood by the ruling to release Stephenson.

“The court acknowledges this will not be easy,” he said in the hearing.

Host said he had received many letters from survivors of sexual assault who had said they were traumatized by the process of Stephenson’s release, including some who had been victimized by Stephenson in 2014.

“I want to say personally that I regret that,” Host said. “I regret what the process has done.”

Host said finding a place for Stephenson to live following his release had been “challenging” since no one as of yet was willing to accept him at a fixed address.

Melissa Bagwell, a representative for Liberty Health which contracts with the Department of State Hospitals, said they were unable to find a fixed home to place Stephenson since the last hearing.

“We have continued to and never stopped looking for a fixed residence, but we have not been successful,” she said to the judge.

Bagwell said they had found a potential placement at one point, but the homeowner later backed out of concern for “aiding to the unrest in the community.”

Stephenson’s public defender, Brad Whatcott, said while he was not in favor of transient release, Stephenson has been waiting 18 months to be released and the difficulty of finding a placement was interfering with his due process rights.

“Given the time he has waited, it is our position that due process requires that he be released in some manner. And that manner must still be safe for everyone,” Whatcott said.

Whatcott asked that Liberty Health continue to look for a fixed address or location for an RV as well as provide a list of hotels where Stephenson could be placed, saying his client had already paid a “high price” in his wait to be released.

Timothy Weerts, a prosecutor in the District Attorney’s Office, pushed back against Whatcott’s argument for a speedy release, saying a release would be unsafe without an appropriate place to put him.

“Release is not a remedy,” he said.

Weerts asked the judge to stay the transient release order, which the court denied.

Placer County Supervisor Bonnie Gore said in a public comment that the transient release of Stephenson was “extremely, extremely concerning.

Gore, who lived in the same neighborhood as Stephenson for three years prior to his 2017 arrest, said she urged to court to not release him until a fixed address could be found, which would give residents a better awareness of his location and a better ability to stay safe.

Stephenson remained in state custody Friday as the debate over the location of his release continues. The court set a review hearing for Sept. 20.

This story was originally published September 1, 2023 at 11:48 AM.