Note:
On 6-16-2007 it is reported that he died of brain cancer.
David Allyn Dokich, the convicted sex offender whose release to a Mead Valley group home in 2005 outraged the community, is in critical condition today following an assault at the Robert Presley Detention Center in downtown Riverside.
Few details were released by the Sheriff's Department other than he was assaulted at about 2 a.m. today by his cellmate.
Dokich was given first aid at the scene by deputies and then taken to Riverside County Regional Medical Center in Moreno Valley.
He was due to appear today at a civil hearing at the Hall of Justice Courthouse in downtown Riverside.
The district attorney's office is seeking a trial to determine whether Dokich is a sexually violent predator - referred to as a civil commitment - and today's hearing was to see if there was enough evidence to merit a trial.
"It is believed the injuries of Mr. Dokich were inflicted by an inmate who is also a registered sex offender and is being held in custody on a civil commit," Riverside County Sheriff Bob Doyle said in a statement.
Dokich, 54, was at the jail under the same circumstances.
The hearing was called off after the judge learned of the assault.
Dokich's attorney, deputy public defender Samra Roth, said inmates such as her client should be held at state hospitals, but because of understaffing are placed in jail while awaiting legal action.
Doyle said the attack was under investigation. His injuries were not described.
Dokich's arrival at the Mead Valley group home in May 2005 was greeted by demonstrators who carried signs outside the home and went on radio shows to protest his presence in their neighborhood. Police put him under surveillance and eventually arrested him as a parole violator for going to a Riverside pool hall and making contact with 17-year-old girl.
The district attorney's office placed a hold on Dokich's release in late 2006, alleging he was a sexually violent predator.
If a trial is held on the issue and a jury agrees with prosecutors, Dokich could be committed to a state mental hospital for an indeterminate time.
Dokich was convicted in 1987 of raping a Lake Elsinore girl. He had previously served two years as part of a plea agreement in connection with the 1982 rape of a girl in Orange County. ..more.. by RICHARD K. De ATLEY
Sex offender still not recovered
4-26-2007 California:
Nearly two weeks after he was critically injured in a jailhouse assault, convicted sex offender David Allyn Dokich remains unable to attend court hearings, a judge was told today.
Dokich, 54, was attacked April 13 by a fellow inmate, hours before Dokich was due to appear before Superior Court Judge Carl E. Davis.
Today Davis was told that Dokich is still not well enough to resume the second part of a hearing to determine whether he should face a trial to decide if he is a sexually violent predator.
The attorneys in the case will report to Davis again on May 25 about Dokich's medical status.
Dokich served two years as part of a plea agreement for the 1982 rape of a girl in Orange County. Then he was convicted in 1987 of raping a Lake Elsinore girl.
He served that term and was released in May 2005 as a registered sex offender and was sent to a group home in Mead Valley with little public notice. The halfway house was about a mile from an elementary school.
His arrival set off months of protests by residents.
Authorities put Dokich under surveillance and arrested him in early January 2006 for going to a Riverside pool hall where alcohol was served and minors gathered, and for making contact with a 17-year-old girl. Both were violations of his parole.
He was sentenced to a one-year in prison for the parole violation. As his term neared its end, the district attorney's office filed a hold on his release and began the process of seeking to have him tried as a sexually violent predator. ..more.. by Richard K. De Atley
Even allies doubt law
2005
Battin says new county statute unenforceable; protests continue outside halfway house
Thursday, May 26, 2005
A state lawmaker known for his sex-offender bills said Wednesday a new Riverside County law governing high-risk parolees sparks false hopes and cannot be enforced.
The warning came as public outrage intensified over the release of a paroled rapist in Mead Valley.
The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday passed an emergency law that restricts paroled sex offenders in unincorporated areas from living within 1½ miles of where children gather. The supervisors have forwarded the law to Attorney General Bill Lockyer for an opinion before enforcement begins.
Fired up by the appearance of radio talk-show hosts John and Ken of KFI-AM (640), about 200 protesters converged on the group home where high-risk offender David Allyn Dokich was placed earlier this month.
"It's been 21 days and we're not going anywhere," said Mead Valley protester Tony Rodgers, 41, outside the home, which is a mile from an elementary school.
State Sen. Jim Battin, R-La Quinta, who wrote a California law in 1998 that restricts paroled sex offenders from living within a quarter-mile of public schools, said he understands the frustrations of lawmakers and residents.
I don't doubt for a second the attorney general will find it unconstitutional for the county to usurp state laws because the county is a division of the state," said Battin, who fought unsuccessfully for a five-mile restriction.
The ordinance would push sex offenders into Riverside County cities, where there are even more schools and parks, he said. Cities have to follow the state's quarter-mile limit unless they adopt their own rules. County Supervisor Jeff Stone, author of the county's ordinance, said he knew the board would be criticized for attempting to pre-empt state law.
"I am caught in a vicious cycle," Stone said. "We are sworn to uphold the laws, but the state has shown great insubordination in their policies. They have pushed (Dokich) into the county and left us to deal with the social issues surrounding his release."
San Bernardino County Supervisor Gary Ovitt said his county is reviewing Riverside County's ordinance.
"The state needs to step up and give us more enforcement opportunities," Ovitt said.
Some criminal justice advocates, meanwhile, said parolees should be allowed to live where they want without fear of public retribution.
Outrage Festers
In Mead Valley Wednesday afternoon, the police presence grew as the crowd swelled to 200 near the group home. The home, where Dokich was placed three weeks ago, is a mile away from Columbia Elementary School and houses other sex offenders.
Officials had planned to place Dokich, 52, in Sun City but he did not meet the 55-year-old age requirement.
"Tempers are short and pressures are rising," Supervisor Bob Buster said by phone before joining the protesters Wednesday. "We (supervisors) have sworn allegiance to uphold state law, so you don't want to encourage anything illegal. We don't want to give sanction to vigilantism."
Dokich was convicted in 1987 of multiple counts of forcible rape and oral copulation of a 16-year-old Lake Elsinore girl he was accused of kidnapping. He had previously served two years as part of a plea deal in a 1982 rape case in Orange County. On the 21st day of their vigil, the protesters said they have no intention of quitting until Dokich is removed.
Dokich will not be moved, a California Department of Corrections spokesman said Wednesday. Other locations were deemed too remote and would not allow him be properly monitored by law enforcement agencies or parole officials, Todd Slosek said.
Two parole agents are monitoring Dokich from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. every day, Slosek said. He is being monitored electronically and there is 24-hour supervision at the house, Slosek said.
Children frequently walk past the house, said Dede Cheney, a 37-year-old teacher at Mead Valley Elementary.
The state is hoping that the protesters will go away, the fifth-grade teacher said.
"They're preying on people who are uneducated, uninformed and it's bureaucracy at its finest," she said.
Before going on the air, John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou said they came to Mead Valley to give residents a voice.
"I'm excited that somebody on the political level is sticking up for these people even if it is at the county level," Chiampou said. "I know it's a state parole issue but you have to start making noise somewhere. And between our radio show and the county officials, maybe someone at the state level will hear us."
Ballot Fight
Lawmakers, including Battin and Assemblymen John J. Benoit, R-Palm Desert, and Russ Bogh, R-Cherry Valley, said they are listening. But reforms would be more likely and sweeping through ballot measures.
"I wish the supervisors would have explored this more, rather than responding emotionally," said Battin. He is working with law enforcement and county supervisors to draft a ballot initiative to reform the parole system for sex offenders.
Jonathan Wilcox, a USC communications professor, said counties have been known to defy state laws with which they disagree.
"The movement to enact a local law that could be in conflict with a state law is part of a time-honored strategy to change or influence change in legislation," he said.
Sgt. Jack Trotter, a supervisor in the San Bernardino County Sheriff's crimes against children unit, said restrictions shouldn't just apply to parolees and probationers but all registered sex offenders.
"It would be nice if there were stricter laws not allowing them to live within a quarter mile of a school at any time," Trotter said.
Some criminal justice advocates said such laws would be unfair to people who have done their time.
"Our position is they (sex offenders) should be allowed to live anywhere they want," said Jack King, director of public affairs for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in a phone interview from Washington, D.C.
"They should continue with any counseling or treatment and abide by the conditions with their parole officer. They should not be ostracized or marginalized more than any other offender."
King cited a study from Ohio's Department of Rehabilitation and Correction that said 8 percent of sex offenders will commit a sexual offense after their release.
Jim Lewis, executive director of the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission in the unincorporated area southeast of Indio, said the new ordinance has created a level of hysteria.
"We are in the business of helping people find a new start," Lewis said.
"There are a lot of people out there who have made mistakes and after counseling probably never will again," Lewis said. "What are they going to do? Put street signs around every school and park saying, 'Detour for Sex Offenders?' "
In most cases, state law requests parolees to be returned to the county of their last residence, making it difficult for local lawmakers to turn them away.
Stable housing and employment greatly reduce the risk of re-offense, said Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, chairman of the Assembly Public Safety Committee.
"Sex offenders are the least likely of parolees to re-offend, statistics prove that," Leno said. "We can banish people but it does not deal with the problem." ..more.. by Staff writers Duane W. Gang and Sarah Burge contributed to this story. Reach Kimberly Trone at (951) 368-9456 or ktrone@pe.com and Douglas Quan at (951) 368-9479 or dquan@pe.com
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