Quick Take:
The City of Watsonville is hosting two town halls to gather community input about a proposal to move convicted rapist Michael Cheek into a motel located in the community’s commercial corridor.
The City of Watsonville and its police department are hosting a pair of town halls to gather community input about a new proposal to release convicted rapist Michael Cheek from state custody into a hotel located on the city’s main commercial corridor.
The proposal, filed by the California Department of State Hospitals (DSH), is asking the Santa Cruz County Superior Court to release Cheek from custody and house him in a motel located at 970 Main St. in Watsonville, an area near parks and family-oriented spaces. If the court rejects the Watsonville location, Cheek could be placed in a hotel on Ocean Street in Santa Cruz.
The town halls are scheduled for April 13 at 5:30 p.m. at Cesar Chavez Middle School and April 20 at 5:30 p.m. at Starlight Elementary School, according to a media release from the city.
Cheek was convicted in 1980 of kidnapping a 21-year-old woman off Seacliff State Beach and raping her at gunpoint. After escaping from custody a year later, Cheek was convicted of committing a nearly identical crime against a 15-year-old in Lake County.
Cheek has been in state custody since 1981, and has spent nearly 26 years in a Fresno County state hospital. He was cleared for release in 2019, but the state couldn’t find a placement in a community setting. In 2024, a plan to release him into a supervised home in an Aptos neighborhood fell through following objections from public officials and neighbors.
Watsonville and Santa Cruz city officials have strongly opposed the proposal, saying that placing Cheek in their communities is not in the best interest of residents. Santa Cruz officials say they object to placing Cheek anywhere in Santa Cruz County.
Watsonville police are encouraging homeschool or daycare operators that are nearby the proposed location to contact Watsonville Police Capt. Donny Thul at 831-768-3314 or donny.thul@watsonville.gov. The city also said those unable to attend the town halls can submit their comments to the court by April 27 via email at criminalinfo@santacruzcourt.org.
A placement hearing is scheduled for May 22 at 1:30 p.m. at the Santa Cruz Superior Court.
