A judge has ruled that a convicted pedophile must stay behind bars until a hearing is held to determine whether he should be locked up indefinitely as a sexual predator.

Bernard Thorell, 52, had been scheduled for release last Saturday from the state prison at Monroe after having served time since 1979 for molesting two girls.

Prosecutors, however, asked that he be committed to the state’s Special Commitment Center at Monroe under a 1990 law that allows sex offenders to be held beyond their criminal sentences if a civil jury finds they are likely to re-offend.

King County Superior Court Judge Marsha Pechman ruled Wednesday that prosecutors had shown probable cause to keep Thorell incarcerated until his civil hearing June 21.

Pechman also denied a motion by Thorell’s attorneys to close the hearing to the public, saying she does not buy their argument that he is entitled to the same protection as mentally ill persons, whose commitment hearings are closed.

The commitment law was upheld by the state Supreme Court in 1993. But it now is under review by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.