SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KRON) — A sexually violent predator is slated to be released from custody and live in a house close to Santa Cruz County beaches.
Convicted rapist Michael Thomas Cheek completed a decades-long prison sentence, as well as a sex offender treatment program in 2019. Since then, state officials have struggled to find a suitable place for Cheek to live.
A new potential home address for Cheek was revealed by the district attorney’s office on Thursday: 204 Forest Drive in Aptos, near Rio Del Mar Beach and a mile from Seacliff State Beach.
Cheek, 72, is originally from Concord. He attacked and raped a 21-year-old-woman on Seabright Beach in Santa Cruz in 1980. Cheek escaped from custody in 1981 and raped a 15-year-old girl at gunpoint. He has served 43 years in state prisons and hospitals…