BORREGO SPRINGS, Calif. — The date for the controversial placement of a sexually violent predator in a Borrego Springs neighborhood has been announced by law enforcement.
Douglas Badger, a registered sex offender with the California Department of Justice, will be residing in the East County desert community after he is released on or before May 24, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.
On May 11, deputies with the SAFE Task Force went door to door in the neighborhood to inform the community that Badger will be placed in their neighborhood.
“This notification is not intended to induce fear; rather it is our belief that an informed community is a safer community,” SDSO said in a release. “Use of this information to threaten, intimidate, or harass the subject or any other person will not be tolerated and may result in prosecution.”
Badger, 81, served multiple prison terms for convictions relating to several counts of child molestation, kidnapping and forcible oral copulation between 1975 and 1991. He was civilly committed to a state mental hospital for sex offenders in 1997.
His release from the hospital is under the Conditional Release Program, according to SDSO, which allows certain sex offenders to receive treatment while residing, under supervision, in court-determined locations with specific parameters.
According to the San Diego District Attorney’s Office, Badger has been petitioned the court multiple times since 2003 for release through the program. He was finally granted outpatient status in 2021.
In August 2022, residents from Badger’s prospective neighborhood placement protested while a hearing to determine the suitability of the placement occurred. This came after another judge’s ruling the month prior to place a 69-year-old sexually violent predator in the same community.
The final judgement in Badger’s case has drawn backlash from the public, as well as County Supervisor Jim Desmond. In an emailed statement from March, Desmond vowed to fight the placement “and to ensure these placements are stopped.”
The placement, however, will continue as planned.
