Why Is A Sex Offender Moving Into An Upscale Home Paid For By Taxpayers?
FAIRFIELD (CBS13) — Neighbors in an upscale Fairfield community are just days away from finding out if a high-risk, sexually violent predator is moving into a house on their street.
They're telling anyone who will listen that having a man who was convicted of rape and most recently the attempted sexual assault of a 17-year-old girl is an unsafe idea.
His current home is a state hospital, but his proposed next home, funded by taxpayers, is likely pricier than your mortgage.
The house on Willotta Drive boasts four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a fire pit and a pool. The 3,000-square-foot home rents for more than $3,000 a month.
Now Fraisure Smith, a sexually violent predator, could be living in a sprawling Fairfield home paid for by taxpayers.
"It's just a ridiculous cost. It's unconscionable," said neighbor Pat Harrington. "You're rewarding someone who is a sexually violent predator who's been deemed to be at high risk of reoffending."
Carla Nelson worries for her grandchildren and the children she homeschools.
"It is going to destroy our neighborhood and our way of life, and our safety and our sense of well-being," she said.
But why this house?
According to Smith's lawyer, his client had a deal for conditional release, which requires strict conditions including GPS monitoring. That happened in late 2013. It's taken this long to find a place that meets state law governing how close sex offenders can live to schools.
The California Department of State hospitals told CBS13 that 30 patients like Smith have been granted conditional release since the program began in 1996, and not a single one has reoffended. The monitoring program is the most intensive California has.
His lawyer says Smith is no threat to children, but neighbors don't want to take the chance.
"It's in an area if someone were to want to do something, they could easily reach out grab and people," Harrington said. "We have kids—my kids—who go by there every day."
Neighbors can state their case to the court, but in the end, Smith's fate is up to a judge. His hearing is set for Friday morning.
A state hospitals spokesman said a judge has denied conditional release for varying reasons, but it is up to the judge on that day.
