The release of a convicted child molester into a residence west of Turlock is now more likely after a move Wednesday by the California Supreme Court.

The court returned the case of Kevin Scott Gray, who was convicted for crimes dating back to 1974, to the Fifth District Court of Appeal.

Gray has been held by the Department of State Hospitals since 2002, and was slated to be released into a home about three miles outside Turlock’s city limit last summer. However, Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Carrie M. Stephens halted the release when authorities learned that a home school operated next door. 

State law prohibits any person with “a history of improper sexual conduct with children” from being released into a dwelling within a quarter-mile of a public or private school.

This issue at bar is whether a registered home school truly qualifies as a private school. The state’s top court did not decide one way or the other, but merely instructed the Fifth District to analyze a similar case — People v. Michael Thomas Cheek — and other factors to determine whether this type of home school statutorily bars placement of a sexually violent predator. If the Fifth District decides it does, as it previously did in backing Stephens’ decision last November, the case likely would be appealed once more to the Supreme Court, and would require the legal equivalent of a Hail Mary pass to keep Gray out of Turlock.

“It’s definitely a setback,” said Chief Deputy District Attorney Wendell Emerson. “Had the state Supreme Court denied (Gray) any relief, then that would’ve been the end of it.”

The Fifth District’s November ruling prompted Martin Baker, Gray’s Modesto-based attorney, to appeal. His case was bolstered by the addition of state Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office and the Department of State Hospitals.

On Wednesday, the state’s seven Supreme Court justices decided unanimously that the matter is to be “transferred to the Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District, with directions to vacate its order denying mandate and to issue an order directing the (Stanislaus Superior Court) to show cause why the relief sought in the petitions should not be granted.”

Gray, now 73, has admitted to molesting 25 children and having committed 1,000 acts of indecent exposure against female victims between the ages of 8 and 11, court documents show.

In 1974, Gray pleaded guilty in Los Angeles County to one count of child molestation and received 36 months of formal probation.

Five years later in Park County, Wyoming, Gray was convicted of one count of having sexual contact with a minor, as well as burglary with intent to commit a felony. He was sentenced to four years in state prison and was credited with 14 months for time spent at the Wyoming State Hospital. 

In 1986, Gray was convicted in Stanislaus County for committing lewd acts with an 11-year-old Ceres girl, and received an eight-year sentence. In May 1993 he was convicted again in Stanislaus County on two counts of committing lewd acts with a child under the age of 14, and was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Convicted child molester Timothy Roger Weathers, 62, also was to be released into the residence west of Turlock before Stephens’ ruling. He, too, is represented by Baker, though was not listed as a party in interest to the case. He would, however, still benefit from the ruling.

Baker declined to comment for this story.

In 1986, Weathers was convicted in San Diego County of molesting a child and sentenced to probation. Two years later, while still on probation, he was convicted of molesting two different boys in Stanislaus County. He was sentenced in 1991 to 18 years in prison, then transferred to the state hospital in 2000. He admitted to doctors that he molested 20 to 45 boys.

The potential release of Gray and Weathers last summer sparked a maelstrom of controversy, ranging from citizen protests to condemnation from elected officials and law enforcement agencies.

Candace Gonsalves, who lives near where the SVPs could be released, has been a vocal opponent.

“We were randomly driving home the other day and my son asked, ‘Mom, did the bad guys ever move into that house?’” Gonsalves said. “I said, ‘No, because they felt the wrath of your mom.’ But unfortunately, it doesn’t look good.”

Gonsalves said she’s particularly dismayed by the fact that Bonta’s office stepped in to oppose Stanislaus County, pitting her tax dollars against her tax dollars.

“I’m almost disgusted by the way our attorney general said that more and more home schools are popping up. Yeah, they are, but in an effort to protect our children,” said Gonsalves. “He’s portraying home schools as an obstacle that these SVPs have to overcome, when he should be fighting for our kids’ safety.”

Gonsalves said she has plenty resolve left.

“We have to fight,” said Gonsalves. “It’s our children. We have to protect our most vulnerable.”

Emerson said District Attorney Jeff Laugero’s office isn’t ready to surrender, either.

“We’re going to continue to fight this through the appellate process, and at any placement hearings,” said Emerson. “We feel strongly that these individuals represent a threat to public safety if housed at this particular residence.”