LOS ANGELES, CA – Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger is urging Antelope Valley residents to formally oppose the proposed placement of a registered sex offender classified as a sexually violent predator at a Lancaster property, arguing that rural communities in the High Desert are being asked repeatedly to absorb placements of some of the state’s highest-risk offenders.
The dispute centers on Harold Wachter, whose proposed residence is at 45310 200th Street East in Lancaster, according to an official notice issued by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. A placement hearing is scheduled for Sept. 10 at the Hollywood Courthouse.
Wachter is a registered sex offender who has been convicted of multiple counts of lewd or lascivious acts involving a child under 14 and annoying or molesting a child under 18, according to information published by the District Attorney’s Office.
His most recent conviction occurred in 2001. Prosecutors subsequently sought his civil commitment under California’s Sexually Violent Predator Act before his release from prison.
In 2008, a Los Angeles County Superior Court found Wachter to be a sexually violent predator and committed him to the custody of the California Department of State Hospitals for two years. A new petition followed in 2010, and in 2018 the court again determined that he met the legal criteria for an SVP, resulting in an indeterminate commitment.
The case moved toward conditional release in April 2023, when the Superior Court found Wachter suitable for release under supervision and ordered the state to begin searching for appropriate housing within Los Angeles County.
The California Department of State Hospitals subsequently recommended the Lancaster property.
That recommendation has drawn sharp opposition from Barger, whose district includes the Antelope Valley and large portions of northern Los Angeles County.
“I am outraged that, despite my direct appeal to the Department of State Hospitals last month, the Antelope Valley is yet again being treated as a dumping ground for a Sexually Violent Predator,” Barger said.
She argued that the state’s placement process has repeatedly concentrated these cases in desert and rural communities.
“There is something systemically broken in our state’s placement system when one region is repeatedly forced to shoulder a disproportionate share of housing the state’s highest-risk offenders,” Barger said. “Our desert and rural communities should not be treated as a convenient option for state agencies looking to place individuals in isolated locations.”
Barger said Wachter would become the fourth sexually violent predator housed in the Antelope Valley during the past five years if the proposed placement is approved.
Her objections are focused not only on Wachter’s criminal history, but also on the characteristics of the proposed area.
In a July letter to Department of State Hospitals Director Stephanie Clendenin, Barger raised concerns about inconsistent cellular and landline service in some rural North County communities and potentially longer emergency response times because of distance and terrain.
“In an emergency, law enforcement response times are significantly delayed due to distance and terrain,” Barger wrote. “Adding another high-risk individual into this environment dramatically compounds these challenges and stretches limited public safety resources even further.”
The proposed placement does not mean Wachter would simply be released without supervision.
Under the California Department of State Hospitals’ Conditional Release Program, SVPs approved by a court for community placement remain subject to an intensive system of treatment, monitoring and supervision.
According to the state, supervision can include individual contact with supervisory staff, specialized sex-offender treatment, random drug and alcohol screening, surveillance, polygraph examinations and active GPS tracking. Residential placements must also receive court approval, and subsequent residential changes require approval from the court.
The broader Sex Offender Commitment Program is a civil commitment system rather than an additional criminal sentence. Under California law, an individual may be committed as an SVP after qualifying criminal convictions when a court determines that a diagnosed mental disorder makes the individual likely to engage in sexually violent predatory behavior without appropriate treatment and custody.
Conditional release comes later in that process. The state says individuals generally become eligible for community placement through participation in treatment and subsequent judicial review.
For Wachter, the question now before the court is not whether he has already been approved for conditional release. That decision was made in April 2023. Instead, the upcoming proceeding concerns whether the Lancaster address recommended by state officials is an appropriate location for that release.
California’s process requires the Department of State Hospitals to consult with designated county participants while attempting to secure housing for an SVP approved for conditional release. The state contracts with Liberty Healthcare to assist with locating and evaluating prospective residences and to provide supervision, treatment and other support after placement.
No placement can occur until the court considers comments regarding the proposed residence and orders the placement, according to state officials.
That public-comment stage has become a key focus of Barger’s opposition.
Members of the public will not be permitted to directly address the judge during Wachter’s Sept. 10 hearing, according to the District Attorney’s official notice. Only five members of the public will be allowed inside the courtroom because of limited capacity, with those seats selected through a lottery.
The District Attorney’s Office says remote viewing is also expected to be available, though the court had not yet provided the video link when the notice was issued.
Barger said those restrictions make written public comments especially important for Antelope Valley residents who want their objections considered.
“Residents will not even have the opportunity to address the court in person since only five members of the public will be admitted to observe,” Barger said. “That makes written public comment the only voice Antelope Valley families have in this process.”
The District Attorney’s Office is accepting written comments until 5 p.m. on Aug. 26. Personal identifying information will be removed before comments are shared with the court, Wachter’s counsel and the Department of State Hospitals.
Comments can be emailed to [email protected].
Residents may also submit comments by mail to:
Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office
Attention: Sex Crimes Division – SVP Unit
211 W. Temple St., 9th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90012
The placement hearing is scheduled for Sept. 10 at 1:30 p.m. in Department 113 of the Hollywood Courthouse, located at 5925 Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles.
Until then, the proposed Lancaster residence remains a recommendation rather than a completed placement, and the court will ultimately determine whether Wachter can be housed at that address.
