After having already served approximately three years of a 10 year sentence, a convicted sexual predator has once again been placed behind bars. Former priest Michael Stephen Baker has found himself in the custody of law enforcement officials after violating specific terms of his parole. While the terms of Baker’s parole prevent him from being within 100 yards of a school, his GPS tracking device alerted police that he had come within 50 yards of Pius V Catholic school. Subsequently, Baker was arrested on November 2 at the Ana Mesa Inn in Costa Mesa.
In 1986, Baker confessed that he had a problem to Cardinal Roger M. Mahony after he had allegedly molested over 20 children in his 26 years as a priest. Neglecting to tell the proper authorities, Mahony sent Baker to a series of other parishes, including New Mexico, where he allegedly victimized numerous children. It was not until 2007 that Baker pleaded guilty to 12 felony counts of oral copulation on a person under 18.
While sentenced to 10 years and four months in prison for his lewd and salacious acts, Baker only served three. He was given credit for time served while he was in county jail and prison and for what is being called good time work credit. After serving only a third of his original sentence, Baker was released nearly a month ago.
The L.A. County District Attorney’s Office had originally requested that Baker be admitted to a sex offender program at a state mental hospital to receive the proper tools to acclimate him back into society. However, the request was dismissed and Baker was released on October 3.
A recent review of Baker’s GPS data acknowledged that the former priest had violated his parole. According to Luis Patino, a spokesman for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Baker was within 50 yards of St. Pius the V school. While the date and time of the incident are unknown, it is clear that Baker violated his parole. Subsequently, Baker is currently awaiting a hearing while being detained at the Intake Release Center in Santa Ana.
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