Convicted sex offender Zoran Petrovic deemed too dangerous to release by SLO County jury
SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) – A San Luis Obispo County jury granted a petition to detain Zoran Petrovic, a convicted child sex offender, beyond his parole period.
"The jury’s verdict will make certain that Mr. Petrovic continues to remain in a hospital setting where he is not a threat to our community," said San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow. "My office is dedicated to protecting everyone in San Luis Obispo County from dangerous sexual predators like Mr. Petrovic."
California's Sexually Violent Predator Law (SVPL) allows a District Attorney to to ask for the detention of a person beyond their parole period if that person has been sentenced to state prison for one or more sexually violent offenses, has been diagnosed with a mental disorder, and poses a danger to others because they are likely to engage in sexual violence if released.
The designation of Petrovic as a Sexually Violent Predator under SVPL, a civil law that requires an offenders' mental health diagnosis to be a contributing cause of their sexually violent violations, means the 80-year-old will likely remain confined to a hospital setting added the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office.
During the two-week trial, jurors were shown that the 80-year-old Petrovic had been convicted of three sexually violent crimes including two in San Luis Obispo County and one in another country shared the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office.
In 2006, Petrovic was convicted of committing a lewd act on a child under the age of 14 and being in possession of child pornography and after violating his parole in 2010, he was convicted of possession of child pornography detailed the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney.
Petrovic was placed at the Coalinga State Hospital for consideration of being a Sexually Violent Predator in 2013 and has refused to participate in any sex offender treatment program since his placement noted the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office.
Testimony was provided during the trial by one of the adult survivors of Petrovic's prior convictions and four psychologists who had evaluated Petrovic previously detailed the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office.
According to the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office, the psychologists shared the 80-year-old has a diagnosed mental disorder of pedophilia and is predisposed to commit sexually violent acts on children and his mental disorder makes him a, "substantial and well-founded danger to the safety of others" if released.
