Effort underway to keep Tracy man who chained up, tortured child, behind bars
TRACY - There's a fierce fight to keep a convicted child abuser behind bars.
A Tracy man who tortured a 16-year-old boy for a year could be released on parole next week. But the San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office says Anthony Waiters poses a serious safety risk.
In 2011, Waiters was convicted of beating and torturing 16-year-old Kyle Ramirez. The foster child was shackled to the furniture inside a Tracy home before he escaped by jumping on a backyard trampoline over a retaining wall and running into a nearby gym.
Waiters was granted parole back in March, but the governor's office pushed to keep him in custody until Tuesday's hearing.
The D.A.'s office says his release would be an "injustice."
"This is not a man who should be released back into our community after only serving 12 years. This is not a man who that community deserves to have to live amongst. This is not a man who should ever be by children," said San Joaquin County District Attorney Tori Verber Salazar.
Waiters was initially ordered to serve three life sentences. Three other people were sentenced to at least 30 years for their role in the crimes.