State Tries to Keep Female Child Molester in Custody

After serving 11 years in prison, child molester Charlotte Mae Thrailkill could become the first California woman declared a sexually violent predator since a 1996 state law went into effect.

A recent evaluation by state psychologists is the first step to determine if Thrailkill should be sent to Patten State Hospital, a maximum security mental lockup in San Bernardino. She would be reevaluated every two years.

Since the law was passed, more than 100 men statewide have been committed to Atascadero State Hospital as mental sex offenders after it was determined that they would continue being sexually violent if released.

The law has sparked debate and court challenges by defense attorneys, who say that it does little more than add unfair punishment to sexual offenders who have served their time.

Defense attorney Harry Allen had sexual predator proceedings dropped this year against Thrailkill when a judge ruled that prosecutors had not filed the case in time.

The attempt to keep her in custody “is part of this hysteria that exists today with sexual offenders. She’s more of a victim than anything else.”

But supporters say it protects society from individuals who have little success at rehabilitation.

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Nora Romero of the state Department of Mental Health said her agency was only doing its job when it referred Thrailkill’s case to the Sonoma County district attorney’s office. Of 2,143 cases reviewed, Thrailkill was the only woman recommended for further incarceration.

“We’re just carrying out the letter of the law, which is our role,” Romero said Friday. “I guess only time will tell if this is successful. When these individuals get back out into the community, hopefully the treatment will have worked.”

But, she added, “The model is not aimed at curing but at helping the individual control his or her behavior.”

Charlene Steen, a Napa psychologist who evaluated Thrailkill, said she is a sex offender who is “male-coerced, or male-accompanied.”

“These offenders are influenced to participate in sexual abuse by a male cohort, who they follow because of their dependent and subordinate role in the relationship with the male perpetrator,” Steen wrote in a May 29 evaluation obtained by the Press Democrat of Santa Rosa.

Sonoma County Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert LaForge filed a petition Thursday to begin the process of incarcerating Thrailkill after a judge determined that based on psychologist evaluations she would be a threat to the community if released.

A court hearing was scheduled for Aug. 10 to determine if there is sufficient cause to proceed against Thrailkill.

Thrailkill, 38, was sentenced to 14 years in state prison in 1988 after she pleaded no contest to lewd and lascivious acts with five children, including two 5-year-old boys, two boys ages 6 and 8, and a 7-year-old girl.

Her co-defendant, Daryl P. Ball, also pleaded no contest to charges of sexual molestation. The couple was originally charged with 35 counts of sexual and physical abuse involving 16 children.

A similar Kansas law was narrowly upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court last year. Four cases challenging the law are pending before the state Supreme Court.