XPost: oc.general, alt.politics.homosexuality, alt.activism.children.molesters XPost: sac.politics, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh
SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) -- It took an Orange County jury about an hour to decide whether a serial sex offender should remain locked up in a
California state hospital.
Judge Robert Knox's court clerk read the jury's verdict on Tuesday
afternoon.
"We the jury in the above and titled action find it to be true that Sidney Nathaniel Landau remains a sexually violent predator," she said. "We, the
jury in the above and titled action, find Sidney Nathaniel Landau not
suitable for conditional release."
"He's been given chance after chance. He's still being given a chance in
the hospital today, and he's not advancing through his treatment," said
Orange County Deputy District Attorney Jeremy Hudson. "He's still a
behavioral problem."
Landau was convicted of molesting boys in the 80s. After several parole violations in the 90s, he was classified as a sexually violent predator
and committed to a mental hospital.
"There was nobody back then to protect those boys," Hudson said. "Those
boys wish Landau was never released because they had to pay the price."
The 85-year-old was petitioning to be released. During the month-long
trial, some experts testified that Landau was suitable for unconditional
and conditional release.
"This is a civil case, and you're here to decide whether he continues to
meet the criteria as a sexually violent predator to allow for him to be indefinitely committed to the state hospital," said Landau's defense
attorney, Mark Kim.
Kim said Landau's advanced age, poor health, and chronic medical issues
lowered the risk of reoffending.
"I'm sorry I did what I did to those children who will be messed up for
the rest of their lives. I wish I could change things, but obviously,
that's impossible," Landau's statement, which was read in court, said.
"All I can change is me. I'll never hurt another person, especially a
child."
However, Hudson said Landau suffers from pedophilic disorder, a lifelong condition, and is a threat to the community, especially children.
"What this law is designed to do is to prevent another child from having
to come here and sit in that empty chair, because it will be that child
who has to pay the price," Hudson said.
Landau was taken into custody after the verdict was read and will be transported to the state hospital in Coalinga.
https://abc7.com/post/serial-orange-county-child-molester-sidney- nathaniel-landau-denied-release-state-hospital/16146560/
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