Man sentenced to over 100 years in prison for Yolo County child sex abuse gets early release
A Yolo Superior Court judge granted a compassionate release from prison for a 67-year-old man convicted of child molestation more than 11 years ago who is now suffering from an illness with a life expectancy of less than six months.
Kevin Ellis was convicted of nine felony charges in October 2013 in the child sexual abuse case, court records show.
A jury found Ellis guilty of sexually molesting two children, along with failing to register as a sex offender and two counts of giving marijuana to a minor younger than 14 years old, according to the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office. Ellis had a 1995 conviction of child molestation involving two victims.
Prosecutors said Ellis was sentenced to 112 years and eight months to life in prison. Last week, Judge Daniel Maguire granted the convicted man a compassionate release after the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation petitioned the court recall’s Ellis’ case and resentence him.
The CDCR petition said Ellis suffered from a serious and advanced illness with a life expectancy of less than six months and meets the criteria of a compassionate release, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
When the court finds a convicted person meets the criteria for a compassionate release, there is a rebuttable presumption in favor of releasing the defendant from custody. Only if the court determines the convicted person is an unreasonable risk of danger to the public can Ellis be kept in prison, prosecutors said Tuesday in a news release.
Testimony at a Jan. 16 hearing indicated Ellis is wheelchair bound and able to perform daily activities. Prosecutors argued that crimes Ellis has committed do not require him to be mobile and his compromised mobility did not lessen any risk to the public.
On Thursday, Maguire felt the court had no discretion to keep Ellis in prison and determined he did not pose an unreasonable risk to public based on the rebuttable presumption and state law, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Ellis remained in custody Tuesday at California Medical Facility in Vacaville, CDCR records show. It’s unclear when he will be released.
Prosecutors said they did not know where Ellis will be living, since that CDCR process only begins after the court grants a compassionate release.
