Desert Center Residents Angry Over Sex Offender’s Move In Town
Some of the 150 residents of Desert Center in eastern Riverside County are angry that a convicted sex offender is now their neighbor, and a national news program has focused attention on the matter.
Steven Joseph Willet lives in an isolated trailer, installed by the state, where he is being monitored by GPS on a 16-acre property. Private guards hired by the state escort him to regular therapy sessions, an expensive proposition given that the nearest city is 55 miles away.
More than a decade ago, Willet was convicted of multiple sex offenses involving a child and young women. He has been diagnosed with a mental disorder that makes him a danger to the health and safety of others.
Willet finished serving his sentence for the crimes in 1997, ABC News’ “Nightline” reported from Desert Center early today. Still, he is classified a “sexually violent predator.”
Desert Center is home to roughly 150 residents. It sits between Indio and Blythe at the junction of Interstate 10 and state Route 177.
California is home to about 63,000 registered sex offenders.
Riverside County District Attorney Rod Pacheco said he was concerned about Willet.
“He’s a danger not only to children but he’s a danger to adult women,” Pacheco told “Nightline’s” Lisa Ling. “He’s demonstrated that through his convictions and through his actions.
“He doesn’t belong in society,” Pacheco said. “He should not be on any kind of release, whether it be conditional or unconditional. He should be in custody. That’s the only way we’re safe.”
As part of the conditions of his release, Willet is not allowed to loiter anywhere near where children or young women gather, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
