Dangerous sexual predator gets indefinite confinement

September 23, 2025

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

District Attorney Dan Dow announced Monday that a San Luis Obispo County jury has found true that a convicted child molester is a sexually violent predator and, thus, should remain in the custody of the California Department of State Hospitals indefinitely.

In 2006, Zoran Petrovic was convicted of committing a lewd act upon a child under the age of 14 and being in possession of child pornography. Petrovic, now 80, violated his parole in 2010, after which prosecutors charged him again. He was then convicted of possession of child pornography with a prior conviction.

In 2013, Petrovic was placed at Coalinga State Hospital for consideration of being deemed a sexually violent predator. He has remained as a patient in the state hospital and has refused to participate in any sex offender treatment program, prosecutors say.

The SLO County District Attorney’s Office requested in a petition that Petrovic be ruled a sexually violent predator. During a two-week civil trial, jurors heard testimony from one of Petrovic’s minor victims, who is now an adult. Jurors also heard testimony from four psychologists who evaluated Petrovic on different occasions.

Experts argued Petrovich is a diagnosed pedophile. They also said Petrovich’s pedophilia makes him a substantial and well-founded danger to the safety of others and that it is likely he will engage in predatory sexually violent criminal behavior if released into the community.

After hearing evidence, the jury found it was true that Petrovic is a sexually violent predator.

“The jury’s verdict will make certain that Mr. Petrovic continues to remain in a hospital setting where he is not a threat to our community,” Dow said in a statement. “My office is dedicated to protecting everyone in San Luis Obispo County from dangerous sexual predators like Mr. Petrovic.”

California’s Sexually Violent Predator Law allows a district attorney to petition for the continued detention of an individual beyond their parole period when the person has been sentenced to state prison for one or more sexually violent offenses, has been diagnosed with a mental disorder and poses a present danger to the safety of others due to likeliness to engage in sexual violence if released into the community. Individuals committed under the SVP law are typically kept in a locked hospital setting, such as Coalinga State Hospital.