Rapist Rejects Terms of His Release Plan

A convicted rapist, poised to become the state’s first sex predator to complete a treatment program and get released, refused Monday to sign a court-ordered outpatient treatment plan and effectively ended his petition for freedom.

A Marin County Superior Court judge ruled in August that Patrick Ghilotti, 45, was ready for release. But since then, Ghilotti has objected to the strict terms.

Ghilotti has maintained that he wants the support of a mandatory treatment program to help him stay out of trouble, but he believes the proposal was excessive.

He first received sex-offender treatment at Atascadero State Hospital from 1979 to 1982. He was sent back in 1997 under the tougher sexually violent predator law, which enables the state to recommit offenders every two years until they’re no longer deemed a threat.

Though Ghilotti agreed to much of the proposal, including Global Positioning System surveillance, counseling and random drug and alcohol testing, he objected to restricted visits with his wife, the length of a 6-p.m.-to-6 a.m. curfew and a ban on using the Internet.

Ghilotti is due for his two-year recommitment hearing in December. Two evaluators must independently examine Ghilotti and decide whether he’s still a threat to society.

If he avoids recommitment, he would be released subject only to regular parole terms.

He also would be required to register with local law enforcement as a sex offender.