I'm currently looking for a picture of these two nitwits so they can be properly shamed. In addition to the protest, they are livestreaming the house on YouTube and have created a website that doxed those at the house along with the owner.
Other things to point out:
- It may actually be illegal to post registry flier data on their "Stop ELDA House" website.
- The erroneously claim that there is a statewide residency law (there is not though restrictions can be made as a condition of supervised release). This is a moot point since they admit their targeted house meets the legal standards.
Families protest halfway house for sexual offenders in Fairfield
By Susan Hiland
FAIRFIELD — Parents and residents near B. Gale Wilson Elementary School and K.I. Jones Elementary School are outraged to find a halfway house for sexual offenders is right in the middle of the neighborhood where their children go to school.
About 25 parents came out Saturday to B. Gale Wilson to march to the halfway house, protesting all the way.
Richard Creighton and his wife Evelyn have two little boys and they were stunned to find out about the halfway house.
“We live right across the street from the house,” Richard Creighton said.
The house is located on the 2900 block of Waterman Boulevard, less than a mile from both schools.
The state’s Megan’s Law website shows four convicted sex offenders live at the home: a 42-year-old man convicted in 2002 of rape of a drugged or intoxicated victim and released from prison in 2018; a 29-year-old man convicted in 2013 of sodomy by force, violence or fear of a victim who was younger than 14 and released from prison in 2018; a 71-year-old man convicted in 1983 of rape in concert with force or violence and oral copulation in concert, and released from prison in 1989; and an 81-year-old man convicted in 1986 of committing lewd and lascivious acts with a minor younger than 14 and released from prison the same year.
The Megan’s Law entry for the 81-year-old man also lists an allegation of continuous sexual abuse of a child but does not include conviction or release dates.
Creighton said he “had no idea” about the halfway house until he saw the information on social media from City Councilwoman Catherine Moy.
Creighton has since started a website called Stop ELDA House, which includes information that he and others have gathered on the situation.
ELDA House is an organization that provides services that include reentry housing and substance use services.
The company has taken down its website but archived pages are available to view with a lot of searching. Those archives pages show ELDA House also partners with additional community reentry partners that may assist with employment and vocational needs.
Creighton said his research shows a resident of the Bay Area purchased the house on Waterman Boulevard on Oct. 29, 2021. The owner used funding provided by the state to turn this home into a transitional house for sex offenders, including pedophiles, without notifying the county, the city or the local residents, Creighton said.
Creighton said the home has six bedrooms and can therefore accommodate six parolees. Online records from the Solano County Assessor’s Office list the house as having four bedrooms. A listing of real estate transactions shows the 4,299-square-foot home, built in 2008, has four bedrooms and sold that day for $899,000.
Similar facilities are run in Winters, Antioch and Pittsburg.
An individual can purchase a house and provide a “halfway house” for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation under the 2015 Reentry Program. These programs are intended to assist prisoners in developing solid relapse prevention plans, along with a plan for reentry and various skills training from social to work assistance.
Evelyn Creighton said the police have been called to the house several times.
“The entire Fairfield government should be ashamed that they let this happen, that they allowed the permits to go through,” said neighbor Walt Phillip, who also has two children living near the house.
“This is stressful always walking around on guard,” he said.
Moy came out with the protestors. She said the state can allow these halfway houses for parolees to be located anywhere.
“This one is in a bad spot because not only is it in between two elementary schools but there is also a day care center within a few blocks of the house,” Moy said.
Moy said the City Council took a look at the business application that was filed and it said the building was going to be used for a day care/adult care center.
“This is not really adult care,” she said. “We are going to be changing the business license application to be very specific about what business is coming in.”
Because this is a state program for parolees, the owner did not have to get permission to have a halfway house for sex offender parolees, Moy said. The parolees do have GPS monitors on their ankles and are limited to attending work and shopping at the nearest stores, she said.
“The city attorney is looking into what legal avenues we can take,” Moy said. “This is really new and so it will take time to look into.”
In the meantime, Moy has contacted state Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, requesting a town hall meeting, which she said he is happy to do. She said they are working to fix a date.
The city plans to have some answers to this situation sometime in May but a date is not set because the legal team needs to do the research, Moy said.
“We may do it during a regular meeting but I think there is going to be too much to cover in a regular meeting and we will do it in a town hall meeting, but that is not for sure yet,” Moy said.
Creighton has placed cameras on his front porch to face the street where children walk by and has a live YouTube feed so parents can watch the children coming and going to school.
Moy said the Police Department is aware of the situation and has added patrol cars during the opening of school and ending of school days.
“They can’t stay all day but they are also adding patrol driving by during the day,” Moy said.
One thing was clear Saturday: People support parolees getting a second chance but putting sexual offenders near schools is not the way to do it, Moy said.
For more information on this issue, go to https://stopeldahouse.org.
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