- Notorious sex attacker Alvin Ray Quarles, 57, may be set for an early release on his 50-year prison sentence
- Dubbed the ‘Bolder than Most’ rapist, he terrified San Diego and targeted over a dozen women at knifepoint, often forcing their partners to watch
- His stricken victims have called for him to remain locked up, with one feeling that ‘if the chance comes, he will take it’
Terrified victims have pleaded with a San Diego court panel to keep a serial sex attacker known as the ‘Bolder than Most’ rapist behind bars.
Notorious offender Alvin Ray Quarles, 57, was sentenced to 50 years in prison in 1989 for over a dozen horrific attacks on women on the West Coast, during which he often forced his victim’s partners to witness the rapes at knifepoint.
Despite his vicious history, a judge this week granted his early release so long as appropriate housing can be found, sparking outrage among the community who argue Quarles remains a threat to public safety.
‘This is a very dangerous person,’ said Mary Taylor, one of the felon’s victims. ‘If the chance comes, he will take it.’
Notorious sex attacker Alvin Ray Quarles, 57, (pictured in 2018) may be set for an early release on his 50-year prison sentence
Dubbed the ‘Bolder than Most’ rapist, he terrified San Diego and targeted over a dozen women at knifepoint, often forcing their partners to watch. He is seen at his 1989 trial, where he pleaded guilty
Quarles has made several previous petitions for release, but was refused each time as judges ruled that his violent history made him a risk.
After his conditional release was decided this week, questions have been raised over whether the appropriate law for the release of sex offenders is being used with Quarles’ case.
He is classified as a sexually violent predator (SVP), a designation reserved for less than 1 percent of California’s sexual offender population who have been diagnosed with a mental disorder that makes them likely to re-offend, such as pedophilia.
At Quarles’ most recent hearing, four psychiatrists ruled that he was ready for release, leading a prosecutor to cite old case law that said they are therefore unable challenge an SVP release, according to the San Diego Union Tribune.
While that ruling led Diego County Superior Court Judge David M. Gill to decide Quarles can be released from a state hospital, Deputy District Attorney Samantha Begovich quickly sought to overturn it as she argued the law had been misapplied.
‘Mr. Quarles continues to be a danger,’ Begovich said following the hearing on Thursday.
‘From day one, there was a misperception as to what the legal requirements are… and those misperceptions had a cascading effect throughout the proceedings.’
Deputy District Attorney Samantha Begovich (pictured) petitioned to overturn Quarles’ release, arguing he ‘continues to be a danger’
She argued that Gill made his determination off the condition that approved SVPs are released to the ‘least restrictive setting’ for him to continue treatment.
In response, Quarles’ attorney Euketa Oliver said Gill’s decision was the difficult choice in the face of public pressure and it would have been easy for him to deny the release, as other judges have done in years past.
Oliver added that Quarles’ release is conditional on finding appropriate housing, which would include security measures to keep him at arm’s length from the public.
It may be several weeks for a board to rule on overturning the release, however the three-judge panel making the decision appeared to side with Begovich, with presiding Judge Richard Huffman saying this week that Quarles’ record is ‘one of the most horrendous I’ve seen.’
Cynthia Medina (pictured), another of Quarles’ victims who was attacked when he forced himself into her hotel room with her boyfriend, said the prospect of his release ‘angers’ and ‘scares’ her
Several victims have called for their attacker to remain behind bars, including Mary Taylor (right), who insisted he is still a ‘very dangerous person’ and ‘if the chance comes, he will take it’
With the serial rapist’s release in limbo, his victims have spoken out to urge officials to keep their attacker in prison.
After Begovich’s appeal on Thursday, Taylor said she had felt ‘invalidated by the courts for 30-plus years’ and that Quarles’ shortened sentence and proposed release would be a miscarriage of justice.
‘I have felt on several occasions that I was being assaulted again (by the courts)’ she continued.
‘Finally, someone understands that this is a very dangerous person… If the chance comes, he will take it.’
Cynthia Medina, another of Quarles’ victims who was attacked when he forced himself into her hotel room with her boyfriend, said the prospect of his release has her concerned for more than just her own safety.
‘It does not make you feel safe, that’s for sure,’ she told Fox5. ‘It angers me, it scares me.’
‘They told me I wouldn’t have to worry about him in my lifetime, and you put your faith in that, and for the last 10 years I’ve been trying to keep him from getting out.
‘It’s inevitable, but he got an extra 10 years because of us, so do I feel safe? No.’
‘As his survivor, it doesn’t make me feel very good at all but I kind of have to accept it because of the way the laws are.’
Quarles’ release has raised questions over whether the appropriate law is being applied, as he may be released as a Sexually Violent Predator (SVP) only on the approval of psychiatrist testimony
The release comes at the same time as another controversial parolee, Alan James (pictured), a convicted child molester who previously re-offended
Quarles’ proposed release has come at the same time as another controversial inmate’s parole. Convicted child molester Alan James is set to be released in a similar housing program to Quarles.
James was initially convicted in 1981 for a lewd act against a child under 14, but was only sentenced to three years probation and 180 days in jail.
He then re-offended and was convicted five years later for multiple sex attacks against three children, including kidnapping for the purpose of child molest and unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.
The felon served 25 years in prison before being committed to a state hospital for treatment in 2014. He had previously been released to a home in Jacumba, California in 2019, but violated the terms of his parole and was sent back to a state hospital in 2020.
He is now set to be released to supervised housing, and would be the seventh sexually violent predator (SVP) to be housed in San Diego County. If Quarles is released, he would become number eight.