SACRAMENTO — A Turlock mother who lives next door to a proposed residence for two sexually violent predators told the state Assembly’s public safety committee on Tuesday that her life has been “turned upside down” since learning of their potential placement.
Dressed in a purple floral romper and a black cardigan, the petite mother of three spoke passionately for two and a half minutes to urge legislators to pass Senate Bill 1074, which aims to strengthen existing SVP laws.
“I ask all of you put yourself in my position for a moment,” Erica Farmer told the legislators. “I want you to imagine telling your children they can no longer play outside because sexually violent predators can watch them from their home. I want you to imagine having to explain to your child they can never have another birthday party at home because no one will attend knowing full well there is a child predator living next door."
Convicted child molesters Kevin Scott Gray, 72, and Timothy Roger Weathers, 61, are being held by the Department of State Hospitals in Coalinga for crimes committed more than 30 years ago. They are slated to be released into a residence on North Central Avenue, just west of the Turlock city limit.
Stanislaus County prosecutors were in court Tuesday to argue against the placement. They will be back in court July 22 to resume the matter.
Other than determining a date for the next hearing, the only procedural matter conducted on Tuesday was Judge Carrie M. Stephens admonishing the District Attorney’s office for releasing the dwelling’s specific address, pointing out its appearance in recent media reports. However, the address was circulated on neighborhood fliers prior to it appearing in any news reports.
“My daughters and I went door to door handing out information for our (June 20) town hall meeting and our rallies,” said Turlocker Mindy Bruenn, who lives on North Central Avenue. “Of about 20 houses we went to; only one parent answered the door. It was always children. Children in the front yard and they’d have to go find their parents because they were already outside playing on their bikes or on the swing set. That’s just how we are in our community. The kids are free … and we pride ourselves on that.”
Bruenn was one of about a dozen Turlockers who stood outside the county courthouse in Modesto on Tuesday morning, carrying placards with slogans such as “Please Protect Our Kids,” “Keep Child Predators Off Our Street,” and one urging Judge Carrie M. Stephens to “Rule Like Your Kid Lives Here.”
Farmer, who has been instrumental in organizing protest events, could not be with them as she prepared to address elected officials.
“Most definitely I was nervous,” said Farmer, who was invited to speak in Sacramento by Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones (R-San Diego) “Until I got in there. I thought all eyes were going to be on me, but I had my back to the audience.
“I feel like I made an impact.”
The stay-at-home mother home schools her youngest child. State law says that an SVP cannot be released within a quarter mile of any type of school, which would disqualify the proposed dwelling on North Central Avenue as a potential release site. That same scenario kept Gray from being released in neighboring Merced County earlier this year.
Jones, along with Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil (D-Jackson) co-authored SB 1074. Assemblymember Juan Alanis (R-Modesto), vice chair of the public safety committee, voted in favor of the bill that passed out of committee late Tuesday and is now headed to the Assembly’s Appropriations Committee.
