A judge approved the release of a man convicted of sexually assaulting several children decades ago into the East County with pushback from the man's victims and other sexual assault survivors in the community.
Alan Earl James will be placed in the Jacumba Hot Springs area on or before April 25, according to the district attorney’s office.
San Diego County Superior Court Judge Albert Harutunian made his decision Monday after delaying the approval on March 22 to first hear testimony from James’ victims and the community.
James was convicted of charges of rape, child molestation, and kidnapping in the 1980s. He served time in prison before being released. James then raped two girls and was sent back to prison.
James is currently in a state prison hospital, but the judge said he met the conditions for release.
One of James’ victims was Robert Nabors, his younger cousin. Nabors was five years old when James sexually assaulted him.
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Nabors flew out to San Diego from the East Coast to fight his cousin’s release. He was joined by his sister.
“I flew 3,000 miles to ensure this guy is going to stay behind bars,” Nabors told NBC 7 before the judge approved James’ release. “He deserves to stay locked up. Simple as that.”
A local group called Your Voice Has Power fights against the release of sexually violent predators into the county. They stood with Nabors against James’ release, as well as another predator who may be released into the same area.
The fate of Alvin Quarles, known as the “Bolder Than Most Rapist,” is still undecided as a judge stayed his release in early Mach after much back-and-forth about this possibility, initially being up for parole in 2014.
Other convicted predators released into the Jacumba Hot Springs area include Herman Joseph Smith, Ural Davis, Michael Joseph Martinez, Allen Fields, and Mikel Wayne Marshall.
County Board of Supervisor Dianne Jacob argued against James’ release into the East County, a place she said has become a dumping ground for sexually violent predators.
Following Monday’s decision, Jacob released the following statement:
“This is wrong. A Superior Court judge today approved state plans to house sexually violent predator Alan Earl James in Jacumba, the tenth predator placed in our backcountry. The high concentration of these monsters out East is outrageous. I will continue to work with families and victims to fight it.”
Jacob had previously sent a letter to State Attorney General Xavier Becerra, urging him to investigate the placement of sexual predators into the East County.
Now that James’ release has been approved, he has become the 10th sexually violent predator to be placed in the East County.
