CAMARILLO : Accused Rapist to Be Sent Back to Hospital

A Camarillo State Hospital patient accused of raping a 22-year-old mentally disabled woman in May was ordered back to the same facility Thursday while authorities try to figure out where else to send him.

Ventura County Superior Court Judge Charles R. McGrath approved the temporary order only until Deputy Dist. Atty. Mark R. Pachowicz can determine whether Harold Anthony Aviles can be housed at a more secure hospital in Northern California.

Aviles is scheduled to be sent back to the hospital as soon as possible.

McGrath included in the order a provision that hospital officials restrict Aviles’ privileges to roam the hospital grounds.

“I’m just a little reluctant to send him back to Camarillo,” McGrath said.

Aviles, 27, who is accused of raping a patient at Camarillo State Hospital on May 22, was arrested the following day.

He had been sent to the facility for psychiatric evaluation after his arrest on charges of child molestation in San Diego, Pachowicz said.

He allegedly raped the patient in a hospital bathroom “during a time when they had the ability to roam” the facility, Pachowicz said.

Aviles is not able to assist in his own defense in the San Diego case or the current rape case, Deputy Public Defender Neil B. Quinn said.

Pachowicz has until an Aug. 18 hearing to see if he can find another hospital to house Aviles.

The patient is described as developmentally disabled.