Will violent sexual predator be housed in Placer foothills? DA, residents fight move
As Alta residents protest the placement of released sexually violent predator William Stephenson, Placer County’s district attorney restated his office’s opposition ahead of a February hearing to determine whether Stephenson will live in the foothill town.
Placer County DA Morgan Gire met Alta residents at a crowded town hall Tuesday night concerned that the convicted Stephenson, who served more than 30 years in state prison for his crimes, will soon reside there.
Stephenson was convicted in 1991 of sexual battery, oral copulation by force or fear, assault and sexual penetration of a victim with a foreign object by force, according to California’s Megan’s Law database.
Stephenson was last released in 2014 and arrested again 2017 in Roseville for possession of child pornography, according to previous Bee reporting.
“A small, rural K–8 school district with limited services, minimal law enforcement presence and a population of young children is not an appropriate or responsible location for the release of a violent sexual offender,” Shana Brown, principal and superintendent of Alta Dutch Flat School said, ABC10 reported.
Tuesday’s town hall was held a week before a Wednesday deadline for written public comments to be submitted to the court for its consideration. A hearing on Stephenson’s placement is scheduled for Feb. 13 in Placer Superior Court in Roseville.
“For more than four years, our office has opposed Mr. Stephenson’s release. We continue to maintain that he poses a risk to public safety,” Gire said in a statement to The Bee prior to the Tuesday town hall. “While the State and the Court have disagreed and have consistently advanced efforts to place him within our county, our position has not changed.”
Gire said in the statement that Stephenson in recent months “acknowledged that he continues to experience fantasies involving his victims.”
“Despite this admission, the State and the Court determined that release was appropriate. For the sake of our community, we sincerely hope that assessment proves correct,” Gire said.
Gire said in the statement that the process has been costly as well as concerning for Placer County residents. The state has held a home in the 33900 block of Alta Oaks Road at taxpayer expense since August 2024, he said.
“During the placement search, the State has been paying approximately $4,500 per month since August 2024 to hold a residence for an individual we do not believe is suitable for release,” Gire said in the statement. “This expense is paid by taxpayers and is deeply concerning to Placer County residents.”
Officials at the state’s Department of State Hospitals declined to comment specifically on Stephenson’s case, but provided information on the steps involved in the placement of individuals designated as sexually violent predators into an outpatient conditional release program.
The individual’s placement in a community and round-the-clock monitoring is the final step in the DSH’s sex offender treatment program for sexually violent predators, state hospital officials said.
Community placement includes a lengthy list of residency restrictions, including proximity to schools and parks where children regularly gather and locations that consider the safety of residents and the individual being housed, officials said.
While housed, the individual is supervised and monitored by state-contracted Liberty Healthcare staffers. Surveillance, announced and unannounced searches, random urine screens for alcohol and drugs, reviews of financial activity, monitoring of electronic devices and designated restricted areas where the individual is barred from accessing are among the tools used to watch over the individual, officials said.
California state law requires that before the local court considers where the person is placed, the state’s Department of State Hospitals give notice to the county’s sheriff and district attorney. The notice triggers a 30-day comment period.
Once the comment period ends, a court hearing is held to hear the comments and determine whether to approve the location. If the court approves the location, the department places that person at that location.
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