SAN DIEGO — Prosecutors Friday said they will appeal a San Diego judge's decision to release a sexually violent predator known as the "Bolder-Than-Most" rapist from a state hospital and into the community, while the search for a viable housing option for him remains ongoing.
Last month, San Diego County Superior Court Judge David M. Gill ruled that Alvin Ray Quarles, 57, will be released to a home somewhere in San Diego County, where he would undergo treatment through a conditional release program.
Quarles was dubbed the "Bolder-Than-Most" rapist because of the way he attacked his victims, at knifepoint, sometimes forcing the women's husbands or boyfriends to watch.
He pleaded guilty in 1989 to committing more than a dozen sexual assaults in the mid-to-late 1980s and was sentenced to 50 years in prison.
In September 2016, Quarles petitioned the court to be granted release through the Conditional Release Program for sex offenders. Gill ordered last fall that Quarles could be released to a home in Jacumba Hot Springs, a decision that prosecutors, along with county Supervisor Dianne Jacob, requested that Gill reconsider.
Since that time, the agreement to rent the residence has fallen through, and Gill allowed for further argument toward a possible reconsideration of his decision to release Quarles.
Following a closed-door evidentiary hearing regarding Quarles' case earlier this summer, Gill ruled that Quarles be released.
Deputy District Attorney Jessica Coto said her office will file an appeal of Gill's decision, with hopes of either reversing his ruling or granting prosecutors another trial weighing Quarles' suitability for release.
Coto said that the evidence presented in the evidentiary hearing "showed that the release of Mr. Quarles was premature and he still poses a danger to the community."
Meanwhile, the Department of State Hospitals has so far been unsuccessful in locating an appropriate housing option for Quarles. Coto argued to halt the housing search until the appeals court rules on whether to reverse Gill's decision, but the judge denied that motion on Friday.
Until a housing option is found or the appeals court stays Gill's ruling, Quarles will remain at Coalinga State Hospital, where he's been undergoing sex offender treatment since 2014.
Quarles is due back in court on Dec. 6.