Topics : Psychiatric Test May Foil Release of Rapist

A convicted San Gabriel Valley sex offender who is scheduled for release from prison Sunday must first pass a psychiatric examination--the same one that derailed the parole of “Pillowcase Rapist” Reginald Donald Muldrew in Covina earlier this month.

However, Carnot Andrew Lyles, 38, is likely to pass the mental health exam because he has no history of mental illness, said regional Parole Administrator Jerry DiMaggio).

Pending results of the exam, Lyles is scheduled to be paroled to an undisclosed city in south Los Angeles County. Lyles had requested to be paroled to Pasadena so he could take care of his sick father. But Pasadena police believe they have found a way to block his parole there under a state law that prohibits a felon’s release within 35 miles of the residence of victims who register protests.

In 1990, Lyles was convicted of committing a sex act with a 9-year-old girl in Pasadena, among other felonies. Lyles, who is being held at the R. J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, also was convicted of raping and sodomizing a Pasadena woman in 1978.

In an effort to block Lyles’ release, police contacted six of his victims and had them sign protest papers.

“The only thing I know for sure is that he is not going to be released to the city of Pasadena,” Pasadena Police Lt. Gene Gray said.

Correction officials were unable to confirm whether Lyles would indeed be prohibited from living in Pasadena.

Meanwhile, the Women’s Coalition, a Pasadena-based women’s advocacy group, is gathering signatures on petitions protesting Lyles’ release for submission to Gov. Pete Wilson. This week, one of Lyles’ victims delivered a letter to Wilson’s Los Angeles office. On Friday, the coalition will hold a candlelight vigil at 7:30 p.m. in front of Pasadena City Hall.