Around-the-clock security guards have stopped watching a sexually violent predator paroled to the northern Santa Barbara County, but Tibor “Ted” Karsai still is continually monitored in multiple ways.
The Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office confirms that Karsai, 61, is now housed in a trailer at a North County ranch, instead of a motor home that led to him being listed as a transient.
His last known address is 5935 Dominion Road, according to the state’s sex-offender registry.
Since Karsai is in a fixed residence, he no longer has 24/7 monitoring by security guards, according to Mag Nicola, chief deputy district attorney for the North County.
A Placer County judge released Karsai from a state mental hospital in 2013, despite the opposition of Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce Dudley.
Since his release, Karsai had been under 24-hour guard by state contractor Liberty Healthcare while he lived in a motor home and was labeled a transient.
“He is still being monitored and treated by Liberty with random home visits, drug testing, polygraphs, GPS, surveillance and treatment sessions,” Nicola said. “So far, he is compliant with the supervision/treatment plan.”
Liberty will seek to continue to monitor Karsai, which the District Attorney’s Office supports, Nicola added.
A hearing to decide whether the ongoing monitoring should continue likely will occur in the next 30 days, Nicola said. A court date has not been set.
Karsai is a sexually violent predator convicted of the forcible rape of a 19-year-old woman in Santa Barbara County in 1974. He was paroled three years later, and then was convicted of forcible rape of a 16-year-old girl in Placer County in 1982.
In 1985, Karsai and another inmate escaped from Donovan Vocational Institution in San Diego and were arrested shortly after, and returned to prison for an additional seven-year term.
He was transferred to a state mental hospital after completing a 26-year prison sentence, and applied for conditional release.
The conditional release is reviewed annually and over time, the conditions could be reduced. Both Santa Barbara and Placer County officials have lobbied for — and received — the maximum monitoring and strict conditions.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.