Rapist Won’t Be Paroled to Antioch, State Decides
State parole authorities, bending to pressure from Antioch officials and residents, reversed themselves Monday and decided not to release rapist Lawrence Singleton to the Sacramento Delta town.
Singleton, 59, is scheduled to be released on Saturday from the California Men’s Colony at San Luis Obispo after serving less than eight years for raping a 15-year-old runaway girl and hacking off her forearms with an ax in 1978.
Department of Corrections spokesman Robert Gore said protests from Antioch officials and residents persuaded authorities to parole Singleton “anywhere but Antioch.”
Parole officials are still seeking a home for Singleton in a Southeastern state, possibly Florida, where he has relatives. Gore said that if the effort fails, Singleton could end up in another Contra Costa County town. Singleton’s last California address was in Contra Costa County, east of San Francisco.
“Outstanding news,” said Antioch Mayor Joel Keller, who led the protest against sending Singleton to Antioch, where he has no family or friends and where thousands of residents signed petitions opposing his release there.
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