Hunt

Defendant Donald Gene Hunt was court-martialed for engaging in indecent acts with a child while stationed in Germany. Three years later, he was convicted of committing a lewd and lascivious act with a child under the age of 14 in California (Pen. Code, § 288, subd. (a)) and was sentenced to state prison.

Prior to his release, proceedings were initiated pursuant to the Sexually Violent Predators Act (the Act) (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 6600 et seq.). The superior court found defendant to be a sexually violent predator and committed him to the Department of Mental Health for appropriate treatment and confinement.

On appeal, defendant contends his commitment must be reversed because his court-martial conviction in Germany for indecent acts with a child does not qualify as a conviction of a sexually violent offense within the meaning of the Act. We agree.

As we shall explain, to be committed pursuant to the Act, a person must have been convicted of a sexually violent offense against two or more persons. (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 6600, subd. (a); further section references are to this code unless specified otherwise.) A “sexually violent offense” is defined in section 6600,…