Convicted sex offender denied parole in Napa County
NAPA (CBS SF/BCN) – The state's parole board denied parole to a convicted child molester and sexually violent predator after he had served only four years of a 75-year sentence, according to an announcement Wednesday from Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley.
Bruce Clotfelter, 62, was denied parole after a Nov 10, 2022, hearing held via videoconference before the State of California Board of Parole Hearings, Haley said.
Clotfelter -- who will be up for parole again in five years -- was convicted by a Napa jury in July 2018 for committing multiple counts of perjury, identify theft and forgery between 2010 and 2011 in efforts to conceal his status as a sex offender.
Clotfelter had changed his name to Dalton Bruce Vail to avoid detection as a sex offender when he submitted false documents the U.S. Department of State, according to the announcement.
He was subsequently convicted by another Napa jury in September 2018 for multiple counts of contacting a minor with the intent to commit a sexual offense and of annoying or molesting a minor for conduct spanning 2009 to 2016.
These convictions were later reversed by the California Court of Appeal -- by way of plea agreement -- and converted to assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury and sexual battery.
Clotfelter had several earlier convictions, according to the announcement.
In 1989, he was convicted of three counts of lewd and lascivious acts on a child under 14 in a case in Butte County, where he molested five boys he befriended through his church.
In 1996, Clotfelter was convicted of false impersonation of a military officer for masquerading as a naval Top Gun pilot and going to various schools to meet boys.
He was further convicted of failure to update his sex offender registration in Napa County in 2015. He served prison time and was committed as a sexually violent predator to the state hospital system for the above offenses, but he was eventually released and discharged.
Clotfelter was eligible for parole, because of California's Proposition 57 -- Public Safety and Rehabilitation Act -- passed by voters in November 2016, according to the announcement.
Deputy District Attorney Agnes Dziadur appeared at the hearing and argued against Mr. Clotfelter's release. She said the uncertainty of his sentence is shocking and devastating for victims.
"This case, where a violent sex offender is eligible for parole after serving a mere 4 years of a 75 to life sentence, highlights the shortfalls of Prop. 57 within the criminal justice system," she said. "Although the law was originally intended to exclude sex offenders and those serving life terms, it now eliminates neither."
