SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif — The search continues for a residence where a man dubbed the "bolder-than-most rapist" could be placed to continue treatment, but a defense attorney said Friday he would request a "transient release" should the housing hunt go on for much longer.
Alvin Ray Quarles, 61, was granted conditional release by a San Diego County judge in January. However, a suitable housing location has not yet been found by Liberty Healthcare, which operates the state's release program for offenders designated as "sexually violent predators," — or SVPs — like Quarles.
The sexually violent predator designation is for those convicted of sexually violent offenses and diagnosed with a mental disorder that makes them likely to re-offend. After serving their prison sentences, SVPs undergo treatment at state hospitals, but may also petition courts to continue treatment in outpatient locations, where they are monitored via GPS, among other measures.
Quarles spent 25 years in state prison after pleading guilty in 1989 to committing a string of rapes, robberies, and burglaries. Many of the attacks were committed at knifepoint and Quarles sometimes forced the women's husbands or boyfriends to watch.
He was committed to a state hospital in 2014 and has remained there ever since.
Quarles' latest court hearing regarding the housing placement was held Friday, where Deputy Public Defender Shea Connelly, who represents Quarles, said housing searches for SVPs have become more prolonged due to the difficulty of finding suitable residences.
Liberty Healthcare officials have said at prior SVP hearings that their housing searches are complicated by ensuring prospective residences are compliant with SVP requirements, such as not being close to schools or parks.
Connelly said that while he understood the difficulties in locating suitable housing, "We're likely going to make requests for transient release going forward should there not be available housing, which I know is not preferred by the court, not preferred by Liberty, and not preferred by Mr. Quarles. But I think that it gets to a point when a person has been waiting for so long after being ordered released that that request becomes necessary."
Quarles' release was granted earlier this year by San Diego Superior Court Judge David Gill, who has presided over many of San Diego County's SVP cases. At another hearing held earlier this year in Quarles' case, Gill also noted the possibility of a transient release.
"Unless a suggested location has presented itself, I think we're going to need to give some serious consideration to transient release, which is not a satisfactory solution, I think, but at some point, we may have to resort to that," Gill said.
Gill is slated to retire this December on his 90th birthday and Quarles' case is now being overseen by San Diego Superior Court Judge Marian Gaston.
Gaston set another hearing for Oct. 22, during which officials are expected to provide updates about the housing search efforts.
Once a placement location is recommended by state hospital officials, the public will be invited to court to weigh in on whether the placement is suitable
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