LOS ANGELES : State Urges No Parole for Sex Offender Before Hearing

The California Department of Corrections recommended Thursday that a sex offender scheduled for parole in the Los Angeles area stay in prison pending a parole revocation hearing and psychiatric treatment.

The announcement follows a state psychiatrist’s determination that Joseph Noble, 37, has a mental disorder that makes him dangerous to others and for which there is no treatment in the community.

If the Board of Prison Terms concurs, it will conduct a hearing in about 30 days to determine whether Noble’s parole should be revoked.

The hearing will include the presentation of written reports and testimony from parole staff and the examining psychiatrist. Noble will be represented by an attorney.

If the hearing officer finds parole revocation necessary, Noble will remain in prison for up to another year. He will go through another psychiatric evaluation before he can be recommended for parole again.

Noble most recently was sentenced to 6 years and 8 months for two counts of indecent exposure. His previous offenses dating back to 1981 include escape from a state mental hospital, child molestation, forced oral copulation, kidnaping and attempted kidnaping.