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Man Once Considered To Be Sexual Predator Now Gets Unconditional Release In Santa Barbara County

A sexually violent predator once considered so dangerous after his release he was watched by government funded security guards around the clock has been granted his unconditional release.

After expert witnesses testified that Tibor Karsai no longer met the criteria for being a sexually violent predator, a Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge ruled he had no choice other than to grant the change in status.

The now 64 year old man was convicted of raping a woman in 1974, and after being released in 1980 was convicted of another rape. Since 2013, he’s been living in a motor home at various remote locations in Santa Barbara County with court ordered monitoring.

The change means aside from registering with the county where he wants to live, he no longer will be under constant monitoring.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral.