A convicted rapist and child molester from Ventura County may be moving to Joshua Tree, despite having no ties to the county or Morongo Basin. Ross Wollschlager, 56, was convicted of raping two women in 1983, and sentenced to eight years in prison. While on parole, he was convicted of molesting a 10-year-old girl in her bedroom in 1989 and sentenced to 13 years. Wollschlager was designated a sexually violent predator in 1996, and he was sent to the state hospital in Coalinga, where he’s been—off and on—ever since. Psychologists who have examined him have found that he has an inability to control himself and believe that if he is released, he is likely to re-offend. Despite these conclusions, Wollschlager was released in 2007. He wore two GPS ankle bracelets, and had someone monitoring him 24 hours a day. Despite the constant supervision, he violated the terms of his conditional release, and he was sent back to the state hospital in 2008. Wollschlager was released again in 2010, and was sent back to Coalinga within a month for being around children, a violation of his terms of his release. Now the court may release Wollschlager again, if suitable housing can be found. Managing editor Tami Roleff fills in what the conditions of his release may be like…
Registered sex offenders such as Ross Wollschlager are banned from living within 2,000 feet of schools and parks. While the exact terms of his release aren’t known yet, other sexually violent predators who are released into the community are monitored—at least for the first year—24 hours a day by employees from Liberty Healthcare, a company that specializes in supervising sex offenders. They wear a GPS bracelet; are subject to unannounced face-to-face visits; searches of his person, vehicle, and home; drug screening; polygraph tests; continued therapy; and assessments of their sexual arousal and interests. Wollschlager would be prohibited from contact with children. Any violation of any of these terms would result in him being sent back to the state hospital at Coalinga.
