A much-delayed jury trial is set to begin soon for a Red Bluff man convicted of keeping a woman locked in a box most of the time for 7 years. In 1984 Colleen Stan escaped from Cameron Hooker, who had been raping her, torturing her and holding her in a wooden box since 1977. He had forced her to sign a contract agreeing to be his sex slave. He was convicted of kidnapping, rape and other charges and sentenced to 74 years in prison. Sentencing reform laws have now made it possible for Hooker to be paroled. A hearing in 2022 prompted an order for a trial that would have Hooker declared a “sexually violent predator”, making it easier to keep him behind bars. A forensic psychologist says he meets the criteria for the designation, and is likely to re-offend. Trial dates have been delayed multiple times, but jury selection is now set to begin May 18th in San Mateo County, where the trial is being relocated due to local publicity.
-Steve Gibson