Fight continues against potential release of repeat sex offender in Stanislaus County
TURLOCK — Families, law enforcement officials and lawmakers are all fighting to stop the release of a serial sex offender near Turlock.
Several people on Friday rallied against that release, and authorities announced how they're trying to stop it from happening.
We first reported on this last week, and now, the district attorney said he's asking the court to keep Kevin Gray, 72, locked up for good.
Gray has admitted to molesting up to 50 children and exposing himself to young girls roughly one thousand times. He's been behind bars since 1992.
The Department of State Hospitals actually evaluated him three times in the past four years and determined that he's likely to re-offend.
However, the state's third-party contractor, Liberty Health, recommended Gray be released.
At Friday's rally, dozens of families gathered near a home just outside Turlock city limits where Gray and another sex offender could end up living. They say it is too close to a bar and a school.
The police chief, district attorney and state lawmakers agree.
"This sexually violent predator deserves to be incarcerated for life," Turlock Police Chief Jason Hedden said. "Kevin Gray has demonstrated a clear inability to control his violent impulses, and there is no evidence to suggest that he has changed or he ever will change."
State Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil, who also attended Friday's event, said she's working on legislation that would give state doctors the final say about these kinds of releases.
It hasn't been officially confirmed where Gray will live. There will be a hearing about the case on July 1.
