80-year-old Zoran Petrovic will remain in custody and care of the California department of state hospitals indefinitely, the district attorney’s office announced in a release yesterday afternoon.
Petrovic has been found to be a sexually violent predator, a civil law that allows for continued detention of an individual beyond their parole period. The purpose is for the protection of the community by providing treatment and rehabilitation in a closed hospital environment, not to provide additional punishment.
Petrovic was convicted in 2006 of committing a lewd act upon a child under the age of 14, and being in possession of child pornography. He violated his parole in 2010, once again found guilty of possession of child pornography.
According to the DA’s office, Petrovic has a diagnosed mental disorder of pedophilia, which means he is predisposed to commit sexually violent offenses on children, and this makes him a substantial and well-founded danger to the safety of others.
