CAMARILLO : Patient Accused in Rape to Be Moved

A Camarillo State Hospital patient accused of raping a 22-year-old mentally disabled woman in May has been ordered transferred for an eight-year stay at the Patton State Hospital in San Bernardino County.

Ventura County Superior Court Judge Charles R. McGrath, who made the ruling Wednesday, said Patton State provided a more secure environment for Harold Anthony Aviles than does the Camarillo hospital.

Aviles, 27, is developmentally disabled and suffers from Klinefelters Syndrome, a condition that brings on sudden violent outbursts and leaves him incapable of controlling his sexual impulses, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Mark R. Pachowicz.

Aviles is accused of raping the woman at Camarillo State Hospital on May 22. He had been placed at the hospital in 1991, when a San Diego County judge found him incompetent to stand trial on a charge of child molestation, Pachowicz said.

Since he last appeared in court in connection with the Camarillo rape case, Aviles had threatened staff members at the psychiatric hospital with a table leg, Pachowicz said.

Dr. Janice Dodge, a Camarillo State Hospital psychologist, testified at Wednesday’s hearing that Aviles’ case presented the hospital with a difficult situation. She said the only way Camarillo State officials could secure Aviles would be to lock him in his housing unit around the clock.

Arguing against the transfer, Deputy Public Defender Neil B. Quinn said that Aviles has been confined to different psychiatric facilities most of his adult life and that authorities have been doing nothing but “bouncing Mr. Aviles around.”

McGrath ordered Patton hospital to submit to the court evaluations on Aviles’ condition every six months, although attorneys in the case said they didn’t expect him to gain competency in the near future.