Borrego Spring community discouraged after Judge approves conditional release of SVP on Friday. This means Michael Martinez, 69, will be relocated to a home in Borrego Springs, where he will be monitored via GPS and receive treatment.
BORREGO SPRINGS – A judge Friday approved the conditional release of a man classified as a sexually violent predator to a home in Borrego Springs.
According to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, Martinez was convicted in four separate cases between 1979 and 2004 for offenses that occurred in San Diego and Los Angeles counties and has been diagnosed with pedophilia and personality disorders. The crimes for which he was convicted include child molestation, annoying/molesting a child, lewd or lascivious acts upon a child under 14 and annoying a child under 18, according to the DA’s office.
Alan Stillman, executive director for Liberty Healthcare, said 55 SVPs have been released over the past two decades, none of whom have re-offended. Stillman said Martinez violated conditions “related to information he was supposed to share and issues relating to some thinking distortions” and elaborated, “There was concern that this behavior might lead to some more behaviorally-oriented violations, and our job is to catch it before that happens. We expect our clients who come into our communities to live up to what they say they will do and he was not at that time.
Borrego Springs resident Jon Stillman, who lives across the street from the proposed property, called Gill’s decision “horribly disappointing” and said it “feels like a violation of our community fabric.”