People v. Cooper CA4/2

I. FACTS

A. 2015 Petition

In 1993, Cooper was convicted of eight counts of lewd and lascivious conduct

with a child (Penal Code, § 288, subd. (a)) and one count of annoying or molesting a

child (Penal Code, § 647.6). Cooper was paroled in 2006, but six months later parole was

revoked. Between 2006 and 2010 he shifted between the Department of State Hospitals

and prison, until finally being committed to the Department of State Hospitals as an SVP

in 2010.

In 2015, when Cooper was 56 years old, he filed a petition for conditional

release from his indefinite civil commitment under Welfare and Institutions Code

section 6608. Along with his petition he submitted a report from a psychologist, Dr. C.

Fisher, Psy.D. Dr. Fisher concluded Cooper suffered from pedophilic disorder, antisocial

personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, and a substance use disorder. Fisher

said that though Cooper suffered from pedophilic disorder, he was “not intensely focused

on sex with prepubescent children . . . and no evidence in this case suggests that he

prefers sex with children,” as he had “non-exclusive” pedophilic disorder and was

2 sexually attracted to both children…