DeMaio calls for immediate action to fix loopholes that forced the state to release a known sexual predator—introducing reforms to tighten state hospital standards and finally classify sexual harassment and battery as physical harm under California
California State Assemblymember Carl DeMaio today announced two reform bills to fix what he calls a “dangerous and outrageous loophole in California law” that allowed a serial sexual predator — despite repeated red flags — to be released from a state mental hospital and placed back into the community.
DeMaio’s legislation comes in response to shocking reporting revealing that Bill Gene Hobbs, a serial groper with a decades-long record of sexual offenses, was released even though state clinicians found he had “little insight into his condition” and a judge acknowledged he “could pose a risk of danger.”
“How on earth does California release a serial sexual predator back onto the streets when both doctors and a judge concluded he is still dangerous?” asked DeMaio. “This is outrageous — and it proves yet again how broken our system is in California when it comes to protecting the public from sexual predators.”
Bill #1: Expands the Legal Definition of “Physical Harm” to Include Sexual Harassment and Sexual Battery
Current state law restricts when individuals can be held in secure treatment facilities by using an outdated and narrow definition of “physical harm.” DeMaio’s first bill updates that definition to explicitly include:
- Sexual harassment
- Sexual battery
- Any sexualized conduct that places a victim in fear of harm
“Sexual predators inflict real, lasting trauma on their victims—trauma that is absolutely a form of physical harm,” DeMaio said. “It’s time state law finally recognizes that reality.”
Bill #2: Requires State Hospitals to Retain Dangerous Offenders Who Meet At Least 4 of 6 Risk Criteria
Under current law, state hospitals can only continue to hold a dangerous offender if all six clinical risk criteria are met—an impossibly high bar that forces the release of predators even when doctors unanimously warn they remain dangerous. DeMaio’s bill replaces this broken standard with a clear and responsible requirement: offenders will remain in state hospital custody if they meet at least four of the six established criteria, including:
- The individual has a severe mental health disorder that “substantially impairs” thoughts, perception of reality, or judgment.
- The individual was convicted of a qualifying crime under the statute.
- The mental illness caused or aggravated the commission of that crime.
- The disorder is not in remission or cannot stay in remission without treatment.
- The individual has received treatment for the disorder for at least 90 days in the year preceding parole.
- Because of the disorder, the individual represents a substantial danger of physical harm to others.
“This bill replaces the absurd ‘all six or nothing’ rule with a standard grounded in clinical judgement and public safety,” said DeMaio. “If multiple risk factors show a predator remains dangerous, the state must be able to keep them in secure treatment. Anything less is reckless.”
DeMaio placed blame squarely on Governor Gavin Newsom and the state bureaucracy for allowing dangerous predators to slip through the cracks.
“This was completely preventable—and it happened because the state chose not to act,” DeMaio said. “Gavin Newsom and California Democrats have created a legal framework that puts predators’ ‘rights’ ahead of victims’ safety—and the people of California are paying the price.”
“When a serial groper is released because of a technicality even the doctors disagreed with, that is not a system—that is a public-safety disaster.”
DeMaio is calling for the Legislature to fast-track his reforms immediately.
“These loopholes must be closed immediately. We cannot allow violent sexual predators to walk free simply because the system fails to recognize the danger. California families are being put in harm’s way—and I will not stand by while bureaucratic failures put more lives at risk. Enough is enough.”
DeMaio is available for interviews by phone, Zoom, or in person