People v. Houx CA1/2

Filed 12/15/22 P. v. Houx CA1/2 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION TWO

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, A165205 v. VICTOR VON HOUX, (Del Norte County Super. Ct. Nos. CRF97373C & CRF971892) Defendant and Appellant.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND On September 26, 2008, the People filed a petition to commit Victor Von Houx under the Sexually Violent Predator Act (SVPA) (Welf & Inst. Code, § 6600 et seq.).1 The petition alleged that Houx was a sexually violent predator under the SVPA, i.e., that he had been convicted of a sexually violent offense and had a mental disorder predisposing him to engage in sexually violent predatory criminal behavior. (See § 6600, subd. (a)(1).) The factual basis for the petition consisted of allegations that Houx had been convicted of a series of sexually violent offenses since he was 16 years old in

Our summary of the facts is largely drawn from our unpublished 1

opinion in Houx’s 2011 appeal, People v. Houx (Jan. 28, 2011, A126625) 2011 WL 140513, pursuant to California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(b). Subsequent undesignated statutory citations are to the Welfare and Institutions Code.

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1981. These convictions included one for sodomizing a minor for which he was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison. The act which led to the People filing the petition took place while Houx was out on parole in July 2008, when he was found in his residence with a 16-year-old girl. The trial court found against Houx and committed him as a sexually violent predator under the SVPA in October 2009. Houx was committed to Coalinga State Hospital (CSH), and as required by law, CSH staff prepared annual evaluations of Houx’s progress in addressing his mental condition from 2011 through 2019.2 The examiners consistently noted Houx “has not sufficiently addressed his diagnosed mental condition” because he has “continually declined to participate in” the Sex Offender Treatment Program (SOTP). Houx filed a motion to dismiss the petition on February 9, 2022. He noted he was presently incarcerated in the Fresno County Jail based on a drug possession charge that arose at CSH in January 2020. He argued that because he is now being held in county jail, he could no longer be a danger to the “public” as required for commitment under the SVPA because he now only has contact with other inmates and prison staff. On April 7, 2022, the trial court held a hearing on Houx’s motion during which Houx was not present. The trial court denied the motion after hearing oral argument by the prosecution. Houx timely appealed on May 5, 2022.