07/30/2026
District Attorney Jeff Laugero announced that Superior Court Judge Carrie M. Stephens has denied Liberty Healthcare's proposal to conditionally release Sexually Violent Predator (SVP) Kevin Scott Gray to a rural property at 400 N. Central Ave. near Turlock, bringing an end to nearly two years of opposition led by the District Attorney's Office on behalf of the Mountain View community. In a detailed 25-minute ruling delivered from the bench, Judge Stephens found that the placement would "unreasonably imperil public safety" and was sharply critical of Liberty Healthcare, the state's contracted conditional-release provider, for failing to adequately evaluate the risks posed to nearby children before recommending the site. "The court believes it has the authority to deny this placement, and it does so because placement will unreasonably imperil public safety," Stephens said. Gray will remain civilly committed at Coalinga State Hospital.
District Attorney Jeff Laugero opposed the placement of Gray, a dangerous sexual predator, since he was recommended for placement in the Mountain View community. Kevin Gray, 74, was civilly committed in 2002 after serving prison time for sexually assaulting children and has been convicted of four qualifying offenses involving children between the ages of 8 and 11 — in at least one instance breaking into a home to assault an 8-year-old girl. Gray has admitted to molesting approximately 50 children under the age of 14 and to exposing himself in front of young children roughly 1,000 times, including in public about 250 times. A 2025 Department of State Hospitals evaluation found Gray remains a danger to others and diagnosed him with ongoing pedophilic disorder, exhibitionist disorder, alcohol-use disorder, and sexual arousal to prepubescent children. Liberty's own 2020 report noted Gray had described sexual thoughts about past victims as young as 6, fantasies of abducting and imprisoning children, and a desire to build cells to house abducted children. Gray has also stated that exposing himself gives him an "adrenaline rush."
Judge Stephens found that Liberty failed to satisfy its statutory duty under Welfare and Institutions Code Section 6608.5 to evaluate the age and profile of a predator's past victims when recommending a placement. The court noted Liberty never contacted neighboring families to determine whether children matching Gray's victim profile lived nearby, never consulted the Chatom Union School District about bus routes and student activity, and never verified emergency response-time estimates with the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Office. The judge also discounted Liberty's observations that few children were seen at the property, noting many site visits occurred during school hours: "Children are not likely to be observed at parks during school hours of the school day," Stephens said. "Children are not likely to be observed at a bus stop when the bus is not expected to be there." The ruling echoed numerous concerns first raised in the motion opposing placement filed by the District Attorney's Office, including:
- The proposed residence sits between two homes where families testified children regularly play outside and wait for school buses; the court found children living immediately to the north and south closely matched the age and gender of Gray's past victims, and that 22 bus stops serving children as young as transitional kindergarten are located within roughly one mile of the site.
- Liberty's proposed safeguards — GPS monitoring, exclusion zones, and periodic staff visits — were unlikely to adequately protect nearby children. "It is unlikely that he would be effectively prohibited from poking his head outside of the window, or opening a door," Stephens said, adding that any intervention would need to happen within minutes, not the one- to two-hour response times Liberty anticipated from some staff. "It would not take much time at all to reoffend," she said. "I agree with the public comment made that a single failure in monitoring could lead to serious harm."
- The site assessment was outdated and riddled with errors, including inaccurate bus stop counts, unaddressed permitting issues with the converted residence, and undercounted children living nearby.
Upon learning of the proposed placement site, District Attorney Chief Investigator Terry Seese began an investigation into the location. Within the hour, Chief Seese had identified numerous public safety concerns, most notably the numerous children living near the address. "Liberty’s lack of a serious response to address these concerns was alarming,” said Laugero. The Mountain View community was engaged from the start, describing the impact this placement would have, not just to their families, but to their thriving community. Sheriff Jeff Dirkse and Turlock Police Chief Jason Hedden provided leadership and support throughout, lending their voices to raise awareness of the proposed placement and calling for public comment. Judge Stephens noted she personally reviewed thousands of public comments submitted in the case. While she made clear that public opposition itself was not the legal basis for her ruling, she said the concerns raised by neighbors were not unfounded. "The concerns of the neighbors are not hysterical concerns," Stephens said. She concluded the evidence independently established that children matching Gray's victim profile lived, played, and waited for buses immediately adjacent to the proposed site, creating an unreasonable risk. “I am grateful that public safety prevailed in this fight and this predator will not be placed in the middle of this vibrant community,” said District Attorney Jeff Laugero. “I will continue to oppose any recommendation to place this sexual predator anywhere near children,” said Laugero.
The same property had previously been proposed for fellow SVP Timothy Weathers, whose separate request for transient release with limited supervision was denied by Judge Stephens on June 2, 2026. Weathers is scheduled to return to court in September to determine whether any viable placement exists in Stanislaus County.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Wendell Emerson prosecuted the case on behalf of the People.
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