Michael Thomas Cheek: Aptos neighborhood in Santa Cruz County opposes planned release of convicted rapist

APTOS, California – A Santa Cruz County town could soon become the new home of a convicted child kidnapper and sex offender if a judge approves his placement there.

Officials at Liberty Healthcare and the California Department of State Hospitals recommended that Michael Thomas Cheek be placed in the city of Aptos, prosecutors said Thursday. Liberty Healthcare runs the state's conditional release program for sexually violent offenders.

The Santa Cruz County District Attorney's Office said a hearing to determine whether the defendant's detention is appropriate has been scheduled for October 18 in Department 6 of the Santa Cruz County Superior Court.

“Although the court has ordered that no public comments will be taken at the hearing, the public is invited to attend,” the prosecutor's office said.

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If the judge approves the recommendation from state hospital officials, Cheek will be housed at 204 Forest Drive in Aptos, according to prosecutors.

Cheek was convicted of kidnapping, rape and forced oral sex in 1980. Shortly after his conviction and the start of his prison sentence, he escaped from his Contra Costa County jail cell and raped a 15-year-old child in Lake County. Cheek was subsequently sentenced to a longer prison term, prosecutors said.

In 1997, prosecutors declared Cheek a sexually violent predator under the state's Sexually Violent Predator Act. He was also placed in sex offender treatment.

Public comments on Cheeks' placement can be emailed to [email protected] or mailed to the Superior Court at 701 Ocean St. in Santa Cruz. All comments must be submitted by Sept. 24.