Accused Molester Seeks Release from Napa State

A hearing has been set in San Mateo County Superior Court to determine whether a San Mateo psychiatrist charged with molesting male patients should be released from where he was committed last year.

, 80, was ordered to to Napa State within 30 days on Sept. 7, 2011, after he was found mentally unfit to stand trial on the molestation charges.

Ayres, the former head of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, had been charged with nine counts of performing lewd acts on seven boys during counseling sessions that took place between 1991 and 1996.

A criminal trial in the summer of 2009 ended with a hung jury, but prosecutors decided to retry the case.

The criminal proceedings were suspended when Ayres' attorney, Jonathan McDougall, questioned his client's competency due to the onset of dementia.

A jury trial to determine Ayres' competency was held in June 2011, with jurors deadlocked 8-4 in favor of finding the defendant incompetent.

Ayres was required to spend a minimum of six months in custody at Napa State Hospital before hospital staff and the court can recommend any other type of custody arrangement.

If his competency is restored -- which is unlikely, given the progressive nature of dementia -- Ayres would return to San Mateo County to face a criminal trial, according to the district attorney's office.

On Friday, a judge set a hearing for April 27 on the defense motion for out-patient treatment. The hearing is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.

Bay City News Service contributed to this article. 

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