Before the man dubbed the "jogger rapist" for a series of 1980 sexual attacks in Sacramento could get out of custody, a jury has decided he should not be released.
The jury agreed Thursday with the Sacramento County District Attorney's office that Joseph M. Maggard should be declared a sexually violent predator. The law allows for the designation to protect society from a small but dangerous number of sexually violent people.
"Their verdict helps ensure that Sacramento is protected from this individual engaging in future violent sexual offenses," said Deputy District Attorney David Brown.
The judge in the case ordered Maggard to be committed to the custody of the California State Department of Mental Health for an indeterminate time in confinement and treatment, according to a DA press release.
Maggard's history of violent sexual assaults goes back to the 1960s and 1970s, according to the DA. During the summer of 1980, he was dubbed the "jogger rapist" for attacks on women.
He was found guilty and sentenced to 49 years for attacking his victims at knifepoint while dressed in what witnesses described as a blue jogging suit.
According to the prosecutor at the time, Maggard would break into a woman's car while she was shopping and note the victim's address on the registration slip. He would then go to her home and break in, awaiting her return with the groceries.
Maggard pleaded guilty to attacks on four women, who were aged 18 to 38, between June 27 and Aug. 7, 1980 in the La Riviera-Rosemont area of Sacramento.
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