New York may need to free sex offenders

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12-28-2014 New York:

State mental health officials are trying to decide whether they will have to release civilly confined sex offenders because of a recent ruling from New York's highest court.

The odds are some of the offenders will be freed. The more pressing question may be: How many?

"We are reviewing the diagnoses of civilly confined individuals on a case-by-case basis as to the applicability of this decision," Benjamin Rosen, a spokesman for the state Office of Mental Health, said in an email.

Some judges on the state Court of Appeals have made evident in past rulings their discomfort with the state's civil commitment program, which institutionalizes sex offenders who mental health officials decide are dangerous and cannot curb their sexual urges.

Most of the offenders are institutionalized and treated until a decision is made that they are safe to be released. A judge can also place an offender in a strictly supervised parole program instead of in a mental health facility.

In late October the Court of Appeals ruled that a sex offender, identified only as "Donald DD," could not remain institutionalized based solely on a diagnosis of what is called "antisocial personality disorder," or ASPD.

Lawmakers Pressured To Alter Sex Offender Commitment Law

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12-27-2014 Minnesota:

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota lawmakers who have long put off large-scale changes to the state’s treatment program for sex offenders are under even more pressure to act this session, as a federal judge could soon rule on whether the program is constitutional.

U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank has called the program “draconian” and “clearly broken” and has urged lawmakers to make major changes. They’ve resisted, but they could be spurred to act now, with the trial on the program’s constitutionality set to begin in February. Depending on the trial’s outcome, Frank could also order changes of his own.

Here’s a look at some of the issues:

MINNESOTA’S COMMITMENT LAW

Minnesota allows civil commitment if a person is found to be sexually dangerous or found to have a sexual psychopathic personality. More than 700 people with that designation have been committed to high-security facilities in Moose Lake or St. Peter after their prison terms were completed. Only two residents are currently out on provisional discharge, including one who was placed in the community as recently as this month.

Montgomery County district court judge’s recusal granted in civil commitment cases

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12-24-2014 Texas:

‘Prejudicial comments’

The recusal of a Montgomery County district court judge has been granted in at least eight civil commitment cases since September, according to records at the District Clerk’s office.

Judge Michael Seiler presides over the 435th state District Court — Texas’ only court responsible for handling civil commitment cases of sexually violent predators. Seiler was dismissed from six cases Dec. 11 by Senior Judge Ned Dean for either reasonably questionable impartiality or a personal bias against the subject matter or a party involved in the respective cases, records show.

There are more recusal motions pending, while those already granted call into question whether Seiler can objectively preside over the roughly 50 civil commitment cases heard in the court annually.

Texas law provides that a small but extremely dangerous group of sexually violent predators exists and that those predators have a behavioral abnormality that is not amenable to traditional mental illness treatment modalities, therefore making them likely to engage in repeated predatory acts of sexual violence.

A civil commitment procedure for offenders is necessary for the long-term supervision and treatment of sexually violent predators in the interest of the state, according to Chapter 841 of the Texas Health and Safety Code.

The Texas Legislature created the 435th court in 2007 for the specific purpose of holding jury trials to determine the civil commitment of sexually violent predators released from prison. Seiler was elected to that bench the following year and has been the only judge to preside over the court since its inception.

Legislature must address sex offender program

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12-23-2014 Minnesota:

Why it matters: Legislative solutions needed even as sex offender program lawsuit is going on.

After many legislators have for years ignored the problems in the Minnesota Sex Offender Program, the issue is likely to come to a head as a federal trial gets underway in just over a month.

That should be propelling lawmakers to have the serious debate they’ve so far largely put off. But some legislators continue to hope they can avoid responsibility for tackling an emotionally charged issue.

Based in St. Peter and Moose Lake, the program has been under intense scrutiny after a federal class-action lawsuit was filed arguing that the constitutional rights of the 700 plus clients in the program are being violated. The sex offenders in the program have already served their prison sentences and are indefinitely committed to the MSOP where they are supposed to get psychological treatment with the goal of being released. The lawsuit argues that virtually no one has been released, making it a virtual life sentence for those who’ve already served their time.

A panel of judges reviewing the program have harshly critiqued it and have indicated they may order the release of more people from the MSOP.

Judge orders release of sexually violent predator to Jacumba home

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12-19-2014 California:

A judge Friday ordered the release of sexually violent predator Gary Snavely to a home in the rural East County community of Jacumba Hot Springs.

Judge Louis Hanoian made the ruling after considering emails and other correspondence from residents opposing Snavely's release into San Diego's backcountry. County Supervisor Dianne Jacob also opposed placing Snavely in Jacumba.

Hanoian said Snavely, 51, will be closely monitored under the conditional release program.

"I understand the frustrations that people have," the judge said, noting that the home where Snavely will be living is isolated from neighbors and is a mile away from downtown.

The judge said the public will be protected from Snavely, and he will be protected from the public, calling the placement in Jacumba "a placement that will work."

In August, Hanoian determined that Snavely could be safely released in San Diego County as long as he continued to get treatment.

Pressure mounting on legislators to fix Minnesota sex offender program

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12-19-2014 Minnesota:

A looming federal trial and an increase in patients being readied for release from Minnesota’s sex offender program has focused attention back to St. Paul, where lawmakers are again at odds over how to how to fix the state’s controversial program.

Department of Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson says the number of offenders in the final phase of treatment before release at the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP) in Moose Lake and St. Peter has tripled in the last year. “That says a lot,” Jesson said. “We are seeing people make progress in treatment.”

The department has more than a dozen contracts with various group homes, adult foster care centers and other facilities around the state to house offenders should a panel of judges choose to release any of them from their civil commitment to MSOP. Jesson recently withdrew her opposition to the release of the third person to be let out of the program in its 20-year history.

At the same time, MSOP remains at the center of a legal battle that contends that things at the facility haven’t moved quickly enough. A federal class action lawsuit argues MSOP is unconstitutional because it promises treatment for its more than 700 clients — most of whom have already served their prison sentences — but rarely lets anyone out. The case goes to trial in February, and an expert panel appointed by the court has already recommended the release of at least two more offenders from the program.

Those factors have increased pressure on lawmakers in St. Paul to try and find a legislative fix for the program. But a proposal to address constitutional concerns with MSOP stalled in the middle of a heated election season last year. The release of sex offenders into communities has always been politically dicey, and House Republicans and Democrats couldn’t reach an agreement that would attract bipartisan votes.

"Scorched Earth" sex offender laws burn first jail inmate

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12-17-2014 Florida:

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Thatcher Gates is no stranger to the inside of a Duval County courtroom. The 37-year-old violent sexual predator has faced charges over the past decade of forcible sodomy, false imprisonment, robbery, rape, and impersonating a police officer.

But when Gates showed up to court last Thursday, he was the very first offender ensnared by tough new laws for sex offenders. And he may never walk free again.

The Florida legislature began a massive overhaul of state sex predator laws this year, prompted in part by the abduction and murder of 8-year-old Cherish Periwinkle from a Jacksonville Wal Mart, and in part by a damning series by the Sun-Sentinel that showed hundreds of new crimes committed by previously convicted sex offenders.

Lawmakers said they wanted to make Florida "Scorched Earth" for offenders, and the changes they approved greatly expanded the authority of law enforcement under the state's Jimmy Ryce Act. That law, named for a South Florida boy raped and murdered in 1995, allows the state to permanently detain inmates whom officials believe might re-offend at some time in the future. Because the law anticipates future behavior, rather than past crimes, it is opposed by civil libertarians, but has thus far survived legal challenges.

Tense but civil Le Center sex offender hearing

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12-17-2014 Minnesota:

First release of this type to rural Minnesota; facility will not staff women at night

LE CENTER — The atmosphere was tense but civil Tuesday night as nearly 70 Le Center residents turned out for the public notice hearing for the scheduled placement of Level 3 sex offender Robert Jeno in their community.

Jeno, who has been in the Minnesota Sex Offender Program for more than two decades, is only the third individual to ever receive a provisional release from the program. He is also the first provisional release to be placed in a rural Minnesota community. The last two released individuals were placed in Minneapolis facilities.

The hearing crowd was largely opposed to Jeno moving to Shiloh's Hope adult care facility in Le Center. Many people questioned why he couldn't be housed in other communities, especially since Shiloh's Hope's six other houses were all in St. Peter. Many people indicated they were not concerned with the strict initial 30 day plan for Jeno's move but rather the risk he could pose if he lived long-term in the city.

The most vocal opponent was Stacy Sycks, a Le Center mom of three children under 4 years old. She said she had good reason to oppose the move: Jeno is literally moving into her backyard.

Her home's backyard leads directly to Shiloh's Hope's yard, including the picnic table areas, without any fences. She said she and her husband have lived in Le Center their entire lives, including 10 years at the current house.

Ex-letter carrier indicted

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USA Today has reported that "Spratling died in custody on March 19, 2007, less than two months after he was certified as sexually dangerous." He had been committed to the Federal Civil Commitment program under the Adam Walsh Act.

4-5-1988 North Carolina:

A federal grand jury in Houston indicted a former Galveston letter carrier on child pornography charges involving the U.S. mails.

Wallace Spratling, 51, was charged with two counts of using the mails Sept. 10 to receive a child pornography magazine and videotapes.

Another two counts charge him with causing the delivery of the same items, and a fifth says Spratling placed an advertisement seeking to buy sexually explicit material depicting minors.

Spratling of the 1400 block of Hutchings in Galveston has been suspended without pay, and administrative action to fire him has begun, according to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

The indictment follows a yearlong investigation that also involved the U.S. Customs Service and Galveston Police Department, ending in a raid on his home. If convicted he could be sentenced to 40 years in prison and fines of $1.25 million. ..Source.. by .Houston Chronicles.

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Coralville prison inmate dies of cancer

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6-8-2012 Iowa:

An inmate serving a 25-year prison sentence in Coralville’s Iowa Medical Classification Center died Thursday at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

Danny Lee Beason, 64, died of lung cancer that had spread to the liver, according to Iowa Department of Corrections officials.

Beason was convicted of second-degree sex abuse in Mahaska County, and he began serving his 25-year term on April 2, 2004.

According to court documents, Beason was charged in October 2002 with one count of second-degree sexual abuse, and his first trial to the court resulted in a guilty verdict. The court, however, overruled its own findings of fact and ordered a new trial.

Beason’s second trial to a jury ended without a verdict, and the jury in his third trial found him guilty. Beason appealed that conviction, claiming he had ineffective counsel because the attorney didn’t inform Beason that the offense carried a mandatory minimum sentence, the attorney didn’t call additional witnesses at trial and he didn’t adequately communicate with Beason.

The Iowa Court of Appeals affirmed his conviction. ..Source..

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Iowa Medical and Classification Center inmate dies

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5-23-2012 Iowa:

An inmate at the Iowa Medical and Classification Center has died at University Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City.

Charles Ray Parker, 73, died of natural causes due to complication from COPD and congestive heart failure.

Parker was serving a 25-year sentence for second-degree sex abuse and lascivious acts with a child from Benton County, two counts of indecent exposure and dissemination of obscene material to a minor from Iowa Coutny. His sentence began on Sept. 3, 2010. ..Source..

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Texas sex offenders not freed under state program

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12-14-2014 Texas:

HOUSTON None of the more than 300 convicted sex offenders ordered into Texas halfway houses under a little-known program since 1999 have ever successfully completed treatment and been freed, a newspaper reported Sunday.

Texas is among 20 states with civil commitment programs, which keeps some convicted sex offenders off the streets after their release from prison. The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld civil commitments on grounds that the involuntary confinements are used to administer treatment, not punishment.

But a Houston Chronicle investigation published Sunday (http://bit.ly/1wweHea ) found that dozens of offenders have severe mental illnesses or developmental delays that leave them unable to succeed in the programs. Critics say offenders with mental disabilities are more vulnerable to criminal penalties because they can't comply with rules or court orders.

Nearly half of the 350 men ordered into the program since it was created by the Texas Legislature in 1999 have been sent back to prison or jail for violations of program rules, some as simple as being late to treatment, court records show.

"For years, offenders with a variety of disabilities have been assigned to this program with no programs to address their needs," said Marsha McLane, executive director of the state's Office of Violent Sex Offender Management. "Keeping a lot of these people in halfway houses, where they are now, is not a solution. This is a problem we have to fix."

Investigators: "Clear evidence" of arson in Cottage Grove fire

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12-13-2014 Wisconsin:

COTTAGE GROVE (WKOW) -- Authorities say they found clear evidence that a fire was intentionally started in a town of Cottage Grove house that was to become home to a convicted sex offender.

Friday night, the Dane County Sheriff's Office sent a news release stating that, in addition to the arson evidence, $90,000 damage was done to the house at 4721 Gaston Circle on Monday night, December 8.

Residents of the neighborhood were notified last week that convicted sex offender Howard Nyberg would be moving into the house under supervised release.

Anyone who may have witnessed suspicious activity near the home between the hours of noon and 8:00 pm on December 8th, or may know who is responsible for this crime, is asked to call the state's Arson hotline at (800) 362-3005. Tips leading to the arrest of the responsible person(s) could result. ..Source.. by Greg Jeschke

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NJ report: Hundreds of civilly-committed sex offenders earn minimum wage

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12-10-2014 New Jersey:

In a state where nearly a third of its operating budget goes to paying for prisons, hundreds of dangerous sex offenders have been earning the same $8.25 hourly wage as many fast-food and retail employees.

A report by the state auditor said Wednesday that it is costing taxpayers nearly $2 million last year, and most of that money could be saved if the state switched from paying civilly-committed sex offenders from minimum wage to the much lower rate of about $2.33 a day it pays all other prison inmates.

The audit also detailed the high cost of keeping inmates at the Adult Diagnostic Treatment Center in Woodbridge, which is $59,900 a year per person, the second highest such cost in the state prison system.

The audit also found “liberal” use of sick time and loose enforcement of its regulations cost $1.1 million last year, or more than half the estimated total $2.1 million paid in overtime to correction officers of the center.

Paying for sick leave is a “universal” problem in corrections, said the state auditor, Stephen Eells.

And the corrections system itself is the costliest of New Jersey’s state services, accounting for nearly $1 billion of this year’s $3.5 billion executive branch budget.

Officials investigate arson at future home of sex offender

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12-10-2014 Wisconsin:

Utility worker reports fire at Cottage Grove residence Monday night

COTTAGE GROVE, Wis. - A fire that broke out late Monday night in a home into which a registered sex offender was supposed to move is being investigated as possible arson.

The Dane County Sheriff’s Office said the registered sex offender was scheduled to move in next week.

The fire, which was reported around 10 p.m. by an Alliant Energy worker, was at a home in the 4700 block of Gaston Circle, officials said. The house was empty at the time of the fire.

The fire damaged the lower part of the home, according to a news release. No one was injured.

Cottage Grove police said the cause of the fire is undetermined, and damage estimates are not yet known. ..Source.. by Channel3000.com

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Sex offender to move into group home

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12-6-2014 Minnesota:

A southern Minnesota man who has spent more than two decades in the state's treatment program for sex offenders is expected to move into a group home in Le Center later this month, after a state Supreme Court appeal panel granted him a provisional discharge.

According to court documents obtained Friday by The Associated Press, the judicial panel ruled Nov. 12 that Robert Jeno, 50, had no further need for treatment and supervision through the Minnesota Sex Offender Program. The panel ordered his release, with provisions, and approved a plan that includes several conditions to protect the public, including placing Jeno on constant GPS monitoring and placing alarms on his windows.

"From MSOP's perspective, Appellant has completed sex offender treatment. All that remains is maintenance and management of his mental illness," the order reads.

Le Center Police Chief Bob Pfarr said in a statement provided to the AP Friday that Jeno would be released "later this month." A community notification meeting is scheduled for Dec. 16.

Attorneys say he will live at Shiloh's Hope Inc. in Le Center. Staff answering the phone at the home Friday had no comment.

Appeals Court panel orders provisional discharge for Faribault man at MSOP

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12-5-2014 Minnesota:

The Appeals Court panel has issued an order of provisional discharge for a Faribault man who has been held in a state secure facility for 30 years, and will soon reside in an adult foster care facility in Le Center.

Robert William Jeno will be the third man released from custody in the history of the state's sex offender program.

Jeno, now 50, was convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in 1984 in a Rice County courtroom and sentenced to 130 months in prison.

After serving his prison term, Jeno was civilly committed by the state and placed in the Minnesota Sex Offender Program in Moose Lake. The process for release from the program is convoluted — filled with hearings, screenings, reports and yet more hearings — with little chance of freedom for the offender.

The state Department of Human Services reports that the process takes on average nine months to a year. Minnesota now confines more sex offenders per capita than any other state, and has the lowest rate of release from civil commitment of any state.

Since the program was created in 1995, three sex offenders have been released, two of whom were later returned to custody for either non-compliance or self-admittance.

Panel sees 'red flag' in handling sex offenders

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12-4-2014 Massachusetts:

BOSTON — Many sex offenders who are civilly committed end up getting released without supervision, officials at a state treatment center said Wednesday, calling it a “red flag” during a presentation to a special commission studying recidivism.

Better communication needs to occur between state agencies like the Department of Correction and the Sex Offender Registry Board, the officials said.

Brooke Berard, director of treatment assessment at the Massachusetts Treatment Center, and Kaitlyn Peretti, the center’s supervising psychologist and director of training, made the presentation to the commission, which is chaired by Sen. William Brownsberger, D-Belmont, and Rep. Paul Brodeur, D-Melrose.

The center, a medium security facility, is located next to Bridgewater State Hospital and houses inmates convicted of sexual offenses, temporarily committed offenders, and civilly committed sex offenders who are held for a period of time after they’ve been incarcerated.

Millions in legal costs trigger belt-tightening at Minn. human services agency

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11-28-2014 Minnesota:

“It’s never easy to cut back spending, especially in an agency where the work is so critical,” Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson wrote in a Nov. 14 memo to department employees.

The state agency charged with protecting Minnesota’s most vulnerable populations is imposing across-the-board spending restrictions after incurring millions of dollars in unexpected costs related to two high-profile lawsuits.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services, a giant agency with 6,628 employees and a biennial budget of $28.2 billion, is imposing limits on everything from filling vacant positions to out-of-state travel. The belt-tightening became necessary to bring the agency back on fiscal track after it racked up more than $4 million in costs from litigation over the treatment of sex offenders and the alleged abuse of people with disabilities, among other costs.

“It’s never easy to cut back spending, especially in an agency where the work is so critical,” Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson wrote in a Nov. 14 memo to department employees.

The fiscal pinch sets the stage for a debate at the State Capitol this spring over spending priorities at the state’s largest agency, which serves more than 1 million Minnesotans. Already, House and Senate committee chairs who oversee health and human services are girding for a debate over how to absorb millions of dollars in court-ordered costs while sustaining programs for those who are poor, disabled or mentally ill, among other vulnerable populations served by the department.

“Unfortunately, our ineffective response to problems over the past 10 to 12 years is catching up with us,” said Sen. Kathy Sheran, DFL-Mankato, chairwoman of the Senate Health, Human Services and Housing Committee. “Now we have no choice but to act.” Lawmakers will have to wrestle with how to pay for the ongoing legal cases before considering further spending increases the agency’s programs or projects, Sheran said.

Report urges overhaul of state's sex offender program

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11-26-2014 Minnesota:

Program has not unconditionally discharged a single client in 2 decades

In yet another indictment of the troubled Minnesota Sex Offender Program, a court-appointed panel is calling for an overhaul of the laws and treatment protocols that have made Minnesota the nation’s per-capita leader in the civil commitment of sex offenders.

The 108-page report, written by a four-member team of sexual behavior experts who visited MSOP facilities in Moose Lake and St. Peter, provides some of the most detailed critiques yet of the controversial program.

Over its two decades of existence, the MSOP has yet to unconditionally discharge a single client treated there — a failure that has contributed to a Kafka-esque atmosphere and, the report found, fomented “high levels of learned helplessness and hopelessness” among both offenders and staff.

U.S. District Court Judge Donovan Frank, who previously described the MSOP as “clearly broken,” ordered the review in connection with a pending class action lawsuit challenging the program’s constitutionality.

“There weren’t a lot of surprises in there. This is ground we’ve been covering for some time,” said Sen. Tony Lourey, DFL-Kerrick, who served as a member of the Sex Offender Civil Commitment Advisory Task Force. Frank previously tasked that group with identifying potential legislative fixes for MSOP.

State seeks to commit Juneau County child sex assaulter as sex offender

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Here we see the State AG trying to commit someone on his FIRST offense. Notices how the AG speaks in plurals, but there is ONE offense.

11-26-2014 Wisconsin:

State Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen announced this week that the state Department of Justice filed a petition under the state’s sexual predator law against a Juneau County man.

The petition filed Nov. 20 in Juneau County Circuit Court alleges that Larry Whiteeagle, 68, is a sexually violent person and should be committed for treatment. A probable cause hearing is scheduled Dec. 4 before Judge Paul S. Curran.

Under Wisconsin law, a person may be subject to civil commitment when the person has been convicted of a sexually violent offense, has a mental disorder and is dangerous to others because the disorder makes it likely he or she will commit further acts of sexual violence.

A civil commitment is defined in Wisconsin law as commitment to the custody and care of the Department of Health Services for control, care and treatment until the person is no longer considered sexually violent.

Texas DPS most wanted sex offender Rubio caught

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11-24-2014 Texas:

BANDERA, Texas (AP) - A tip has led to the arrest of 1 of the Department of Public Safety's 10 Most Wanted Sex Offenders at a home in Central Texas.

DPS says 55-year-old James Anthony Rubio was captured in Bandera, about 40 miles northwest of San Antonio.

Rubio was released from prison in April 2012 after serving 20 years for sexual assault. Investigators say Rubio last September cut off his ankle bracelet monitor and fled from the Travis County Residential Center in Del Valle.

Rubio, who was caught Monday, had outstanding warrants for failure to register as a sex offender, failure to comply with sex offender civil commitment requirements and a federal warrant for sex offense.

His criminal history includes aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, rape, attempted rape and making a terroristic threat. ..Source.. by FoxDFW.com

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What's next for Minnesota's Sex Offender Program?

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11-24-2014 Minnesota:

The debate over when to commit sex offenders - and what to do with the more than 700 already in civil commitment in Minnesota - continues.

Last week, a court-appointed panel recommended dozens of changes to the Minnesota Sex Offender Program. Among other things, the group suggested the state evaluate everyone in the program to see if they belong there.

Despite these and previous recommendations for reform, the Legislature last session did not take any action to change how Minnesota handles sex offenders.
Eric Janus, president and dean of William Mitchell College of Law, joins The Daily Circuit for an update on the issue, and a look at what might happen next. Janus is the author of books on sex offender civil commitment and was a member of a previous task force that recommended change.

State Republican Rep. Tara Mack also joins the discussion. ..Listen to Discussion..

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Ordered to be deported, but confined at MSOP

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7-3-2011 Minnesota:

Of the dozens of men who believe they should be released from the Minnesota Sex Offender Program in Moose Lake, perhaps Hayden Michael Richards has the strongest case.

Of the dozens of men who believe they should be released from the Minnesota Sex Offender Program in Moose Lake, perhaps Hayden Michael Richards has the strongest case.

He shouldn’t even be in the country.

Richards, 37, is a citizen of Trinidad and has had an order to be deported back there by the U.S. Department of Immigration and Homeland Security since 1999, according to court records.

Richards served 10 years in prison for beating and raping two women and attempting to rape two more in the mid-1990s in the St. Paul area.

Before his release in 2006, Ramsey County petitioned to have him committed for treatment at MSOP, which spends an average of $120,000 a year on each offender, about 3½ times the cost of prison.

And while in Moose Lake, Richards fathered a child with a security counselor at the facility.

Police Calls to MSOP

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6-28-2011 Minnesota:

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MSOP resident in jail on charges related to attack of fellow sex offender

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10-8-2014 Minnesota:

A resident of the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP) in Moose Lake is in the Carlton County jail Wednesday facing charges relating to a knife attack on a fellow sex offender program resident.

Mauro Flores, 32–years–old, is facing two charges of second degree assault with a dangerous weapon, causing substantial bodily harm, as well as a charge of making terroristic threats.

It is unclear how Flores acquired the weapon in a secure lock–up facility.

Other residents we talked with said there has been a lot of unrest, resulting in a significant increase in resident fighting in recent weeks, as the sex offenders wait for a court decision on the constitutionality of Minnesota's Civil Commitment Program.

Flores' first court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 15. He has been granted a public defender. Bail has been set at $3,000. ..Source.. by Barbara Reyelts

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For-Profit Prison Companies Have A Worrying Plan For Boosting Profits

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11-21-2014 National:

For-profit prison companies are exploiting "new markets" to compensate for the recent decrease in America's prison population, according to the report released by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC).

Psychiatric facilities in particular could bring in major cash for private prison companies. These state facilities typically include a number of "forensic" cases, meaning patients ended up in a psych facility because they committed a crime.

For-profit prison operators also stand to gain from a type of confinement known as civil commitment, which confines sex offenders after their prison sentences if they're likely to abuse somebody again.

Inmate charged with attempted murder at Rush City prison

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11-20-2014 Minnesota:

An inmate at the Rush City prison is facing two new serious felony charges, including attempted premeditated murder, in connection with a 2012 incident that left another inmate with a traumatic brain injury.

A criminal complaint against 56-year-old Mark William Latimer was originally filed in May 2013, alleging he committed first-degree assault on another inmate at the facility on June 8, 2012. An amended complaint was filed two years later and includes charges of attempted first-degree premeditated murder and attempted murder in the second degree.

Latimer, whose last known address was in northeast Minnesota, appeared in Chisago County District Court on Nov. 3, when he was booked on the charges set out in the amended complaint. He has remained incarcerated while this matter has been pending, said Chisago County Attorney Janet Reiter.

According to the complaint:

In response to an assault at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Rush City on June 8, 2012, an investigator learned a 28-year-old inmate was sitting in a chair while working in the industry area when another inmate, Latimer, approached from behind and struck him on the head six times with a thick, wooden block or board.

Correctional officers in the area said they heard “smacking” and “cracking” sounds and discovered the victim inmate sitting in a chair, with other offenders clearing away from him. Other officers claimed to have either observed the assault or Latimer swinging the board in the air.

Study: Many sex offenders wrongfully committed

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11-20-2014 Minnesota:

Experts reviewing Minnesota’s civil commitment program for sex offenders issued dozens of recommendations in a report issued Tuesday, including individual evaluations of each resident to ensure compliance with the criteria for confinement.

The panel, appointed by a federal court, also said the state’s civil commitment statute should be changed to ensure it’s used only for the most dangerous sex offenders who are at the highest risk to reoffend. The 108-page report also recommended that officials expedite the process to transfer the program’s only female resident to another environment.

Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson said she appreciated the review.

“We will carefully examine the report and its recommendations before deciding our next steps,” she said in a statement.

The four-person panel has been reviewing the Minnesota Sex Offender Program as part of a class-action lawsuit filed in 2011 by residents who allege it is unconstitutional because it keeps them locked up indefinitely without providing adequate treatment. More than 700 people deemed sexually dangerous or sexual psychopaths have been committed to high-security facilities in Moose Lake or St. Peter after their prison terms were completed. Only one resident has been successfully released, with provisions, since 1994.

Backlash grows against sex offender program

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11-19-2014 Minnesota:

A scathing and exhaustive report casts new doubt on the constitutionality of long-term confinement.

The state of Minnesota confines many sex offenders far longer than necessary and may be confining some who pose minimal risk to the public, according to a scathing review that casts new doubts on the program’s future.

The findings, included in an exhaustive report released Tuesday, raise new questions about the legality of Minnesota’s controversial sex offender program just three months before a lawsuit over its constitutionality is set for trial in federal court in St. Paul.

A team of court-appointed authorities on sexual behavior, including experts from Florida, New York and Wisconsin, conducted what is considered the most comprehensive review yet into the inner workings of the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP). Their 108-page report (below) paints a bleak picture of a program that creates unnecessary obstacles to treatment, sets unrealistic expectations for patient behavior, and leaves both patients and staff beset with feelings of futility. Only two offenders have been discharged in the program’s 20-year history — in what many argue has become a de-facto life sentence.

CLICK to read report

Update: Expert panel Recommendations issued for sex offender program

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11-18-2014 Minnesota:

Experts reviewing Minnesota's civil commitment program for sex offenders issued dozens of recommendations in a report issued Tuesday, including individual evaluations of each resident to ensure compliance with the criteria for confinement.

The panel, appointed by a federal court, also said the state's civil commitment statute should be changed to ensure it's used only for the most dangerous sex offenders who are at the highest risk to reoffend. The 108-page report also recommended that officials expedite the process to transfer the program's only female resident to another environment.

Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson said she appreciated the review.

"We will carefully examine the report and its recommendations before deciding our next steps," she said in a statement.

The four-person panel has been reviewing the Minnesota Sex Offender Program as part of a class-action lawsuit filed in 2011 by residents who allege it is unconstitutional because it keeps them locked up indefinitely without providing adequate treatment. More than 700 people deemed sexually dangerous or sexual psychopaths have been committed to high-security facilities in Moose Lake or St. Peter after their prison terms were completed. Only one resident has been successfully released, with provisions, since 1994.

No cross dressing, puppies or kids toys: Ways NY does surveillance on dangerous sex offenders

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11-18-2014 New York:

No cross dressing. No children's toys. No puppies or kittens. No romantic relationships without notifying a parole officer.

These are just some of the conditions that dangerous sex offenders released into the community must follow under strict parole, called Strict and Intensive Supervision and Treatment (SIST).

It's the less-onerous alternative to sex offender confinement, which keeps 286 men locked up in mental hospitals after their prison terms.

SIST ensnares roughly 150 sex offenders deemed to have a "mental abnormality" but not dangerous enough to keep indefinitely confined.

Of those, 108 sex offenders were released to SIST from the get-go, and another 51 were released from confinement into SIST, according to the state Attorney General's Office. They are not confined, but must still undergo treatment and follow the rules. If not, they could be sent into confinement.

Experts appointed to review Minnesota Sex Offender Program issue 44 recommendations

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11-18-2014 Minnesota:

A panel of experts appointed to evaluate the Minnesota Sex Offender Program has issued 44 recommendations for changes.

Among them, the panel says the state's civil commitment statute should be changed to ensure that it's used only for those sex offenders who are truly the most dangerous and at the highest risk to reoffend.

The panel also recommends that officials expedite the process to transfer the program's only female resident to another environment, and that each resident be evaluated to see if he meets criteria for commitment.

A federal court appointed the experts to review the state's commitment program for sex offenders as part of a lawsuit alleging the program is unconstitutional.

The experts filed their 108-page report Tuesday morning. Officials at the Department of Human Services are reviewing it. ..Source.. by AMY FORLITI

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Syracuse judge says pedophiles he's seen were victims of their own crime

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11-18-2014 New York:

A Syracuse judge who has adjudicated some of the state's worst sex offenders says every pedophile seems to have one thing in common: they were abused themselves.

Onondaga County Court Judge Joseph Fahey said virtually 100 percent of sex offenders he's seen suffer from that condition because they were victims at some point.

"I can't recall a case of (mental abnormality) or in other courts I've sat on where the offender wasn't victimized in that way," the judge said.

In the past seven years, Fahey has conducted roughly 200 hearings for sex offenders confined or supervised under the state's program for those who can't control their deviant sexual urges. He's one of three judges in the state who can set a confined sex offender free.

Fahey said he rarely rules against the state's recommendation, except in very close calls. The vast majority of the time, he rules against the patient. Some come in each year and he's gotten to know them very well.

Audit On Prison Issue Released, Recommendations Made

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11-17-2014 Nebraska:

An audit of the Department of Correctional Services, released Monday by the Legislative Performance Audit Committee, found issues of concern with the reliability of DCS data regarding inmates, as well as the department's use of segregation. Additionally, the audit report recommended that the Legislature consider amending relevant commitment and corrections acts to ensure the evaluation procedures and definitions for potentially mentally ill and dangerous inmates and dangerous sex offenders are "clear and consistent."

Performance Audit Committee members, prompted largely by the 2013 DCS release of Nikko Jenkins, authorized an audit of the corrections department in January. Legislative concerns about DCS' handling of Jenkins ultimately resulted in the initiation of two other investigations, with both of which the Audit Office coordinated its research.

The audit scope included an examination of the department's disciplinary process and use of segregation; the adequacy of inmate programming- such as substance abuse treatment and mental health services- and the relationship between parole decisions and the availability of programming. The scope also called for a comparison of the commitment process under the Mental Health Commitment Act and the Sex Offender Commitment Act and of the processes the department uses to identify inmates who may be subject to civil commitments under the acts.

Serial Oswego County sex offender attacks indefinite confinement law

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11-17-2014 New York:

In 2001, an Oswego County man was convicted of sexually abusing children. Floyd Yelle's history included the sexual assault of a 23-year-old woman eight years earlier and the harassment of a teenage babysitter.

But that was only the beginning. Yelle had been accused of preying on others: the babysitter's twin sister, the 8- and 15-year-old daughters of ex-girlfriends and an 8-year-old friend of the family.

He was sentenced to serve in prison from Jan. 16, 2001 to Dec. 22, 2005. Yet, he remains in confinement today.

Yelle is one of nearly 300 sex offenders who remain confined indefinitely after serving their prison time. It's part of a little-known state law that keeps the worst sex offenders off the streets, as long as they are getting psychiatric treatment in a mental hospital.

Before the state can confine a sex offender, he has a right to a trial. And that's where Yelle's appeal came in.

What controversial technique does NY use for confined sex offenders?

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11-17-2014 New York:

Fixing sex offenders is hardly a proven science. Few mental health doctors knew anything about sexual abnormalities until indefinite confinement programs started in the 1990s.

Since 2007, the state has run a little-known system that confines dangerous sex offenders after their prison sentence has ended.

Most controversial in New York's treatment program is the use of a penile photoplethysmograph, or PPG. It measures sexual stimulation.

The mental health agency calls it an objective way of measuring progress. "It's a key treatment tool," said Dr. Christopher Kunkle, chief psychiatric examiner of institutional sex offender treatment.

The offender is shown a series of photos with audio. There's no pornography - the visuals are there only to orient the offender to what he hears.

Search NY sex offenders confined indefinitely in mental hospitals after prison

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11-16-2014 New York:

he public New York sex offender registry keeps track of 37,000 people. Among that list, you'll find the 300 or so indefinitely confined in either Oneida or St. Lawrence counties.

But good luck finding them. State officials believe once a sex offender has been confined to a psychiatric center the public has no right to know their names.

Civil confinement is a little-known program that allows the state to keep uncontrollable sex offenders off the street as long as they're treated for psychiatric problems.

Syracuse.com sent Freedom of Information requests to the state Attorney General's Office and the Department of Corrections looking for an official list of confined sex offenders. But they were denied on the grounds they were considered hospital patients, not inmates. The mental health office, judges and the court system also declined to divulge lists. The Marcy hospital also declined to let a reporter tour the facility.

Inside a closed courtroom: What happens in a sex offender civil proceeding

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11-16-2014 New York:

Inside courtrooms with closed doors, between lawyers and judges with confidential files, simple questions are debated: How much of a danger is this person? What is his "mental abnormality?"

Those are the questions during sex offender civil management trials. A jury will decide whether a sex offender who has already served prison time has a mental abnormality that could confine him indefinitely.

During these confidential trials, sometimes police and parole officers testify; even victims, ex-girlfriends and pastors. It's a grueling process that captures the offender's whole life, not simply the crime they were convicted of. This is a civil trial, not a criminal one, so the offender isn't facing double jeopardy.

The jurors must be unanimous in finding a mental abnormality. If that happens, the offender is then brought back to court for the judge to decide whether he should be confined or released to strict parole. That means more testimony, much of it a repeat of the trial itself.

About three-quarters of those with a mental abnormality are confined by judges, and the rest released. ..Source.. by Douglass Dowty

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Little-known NY law keeps worst sex offenders off the streets and out of sight - possibly forever

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11-16-2014 New York:

Raymond Younis had a way of reaching young boys.

The divorced father befriended single mothers and shuttled their sons, ages 6 to 13, to and from school in the village of Phoenix. He babysat them and listened to their problems.

But Younis wasn't the father figure he appeared to be. Three times in 1984, he handcuffed a 10-year-old boy in his bedroom, stripped him naked and took photographs. For that, Younis spent two years in jail.

A decade later, Younis struck again. When authorities raided his apartment in 1997, they found videos of up to 30 young boys in various stages of undress and a stolen .38-caliber gun he used to threaten victims.

The laundromat worker attracted infamy as one of the most prolific sex offenders in Central New York history. He did his time in state prison, but state officials did not want him to go free another time.

So they turned to a little-known New York state weapon called "civil confinement," an indefinite legal purgatory that has elements of bonus prison time and mandatory mental health care.

FOX 11 Investigates UPDATE: Audit of the Supervised Release program

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11-13-2014 Wisconsin:

FOX 11 Investigates first uncovered last year the inflated rate the state was paying to house convicted sex offenders and now, the state agency that runs the program is continuing to make changes brought about by that report.

An audit of the program followed last year and changes were made. And now more changes are made to save taxpayers money.

Kevin Moore, the Department of Health Services (DHS) Deputy Secretary, says they welcome the opportunity to work with the audit bureau.

Moore appeared before the legislative audit committee to announce more cost savings in the $2.8 million supervise release program.

The biggest savings of taxpayer dollars is a new contract in place to monitor and transport sex offenders in the program. DHS had paid $70 an hour for the service and the new deal slashes that to around $30.

“We’re looking at $187,000 in savings we anticipate to save that by the end of the year,” Moore said.

According to Moore, the DHS continues to seek out additional landlords to rent homes to some 35 sex offenders in the program. The original audit confirmed our FOX 11 Investigates report that rents paid were inflated on several homes to more than three times the going rate.

New Jacumba Home Proposed for Sexually Violent Predator

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11-12-2014 California:

Diagnosed pedophile Gary Snavely, 49, is set to be released into San Diego County

The Department of State Hospitals says a sexually violent predator should be released in Jacumba, not Borrego Springs as the agency initially suggested.

On Wednesday, the DSH proposed that diagnosed pedophile Gary Snavely, 49, be placed at 45612 Old Highway 80 in Jacumba, a town with fewer than 600 people, according to the 2010 census.

In 1987, Snavely was convicted of molesting two girls between the ages of 8 and 9 in Orange County. The molestations included fondling and oral copulation, according to the San Diego District Attorney’s Office.

The DSH originally proposed that Snavely’s home be in Borrego Springs, but they withdrew the suggestion earlier this month after the landlord rescinded his offer to rent the property. The man currently renting there had no idea it was the possible location for a sexually violent predator.

Littlefield jail could house sexual predators

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10-7-2014 Texas:

The lockup sits empty in Littlefield, devoid of prisoners. But not ongoing costs. The community northwest of Lubbock needs a tenant, badly, for the Bill Clayton Detention Center. And what was originally a proposal to house illegal immigrants, has now evolved into the possibility of transitioning sexual predators who have paid their debt to society.

These convicts are tweeners. They've done their time but aren't quite capable of being returned to society. They continue to receive treatment for mental issues in a secure setting.

"What they have is basically a mental abnormality. And so that is why they'd be able to continue to receive treatment, while not being free but not be a prisoner also," said Mike Arismendez, Littlefield city manager.

Texas doesn't have a facility like this and there are very few in the nation. The convicts are given a battery of tests after completing their sentence to determine if they continue to pose a risk.

Montgomery County , near Houston, has administrative control over these cons. A judge there orders a 'civil commitment', placing the offender in the facility. The focus is on rehabilitation, not punishment.

Judge signs orders to return banished sex offenders to Texas

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11-6-2014 Texas, Utah, Virginia:

A Montgomery County Judge has signed orders that would allow Texas to reclaim two violent sex offenders banished by the state to Utah and Virginia, where they committed new sexual offenses.

On Tuesday, Judge Michael Seiler, of the 435th district court, signed writs of attachment for Lloyd Joseph Wilson, 44, and Melvin Cody Whipple, 58. In September, the Houston Chronicle revealed the two men were banished from Texas in 2004, after they completed their prison sentences for sex crimes.

The banishments were agreed to by the men as part of their assignment to the state's civil commitment program, which keeps high-risk offenders in custody even after they have completed their sentences because of the severity of their crimes. Both men are in prison for crimes committed in other states since their banishment. Wilson is serving a 30-year sentence in Virginia for the 2005 rape of a teen; Whipple was given a 15-year sentence in Utah on a 2008 conviction for a sexual offense involving a child.

State will pay $203,000 to sex offender raped while in custody

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11-5-2014 Minnesota:

Staff at sex offender facility failed to step in and prevent inmate’s attack on his cellmate.

A violent patient in Minnesota’s sex offender treatment program admitted in therapy that he was grooming his new roommate for sex, but the staff failed for weeks to intervene or prevent the rape that subsequently occurred.

The sequence of events, detailed in a recent state investigation, will result in the state paying $203,000 to settle a lawsuit by Michael Mrozek, the victim in the 2010 attack.

In addition, Deputy Human Services Commissioner Anne Barry has apologized to Mrozek, telling him by letter that the agency “sincerely regrets the sexual assault that was perpetrated upon you by your roommate.”

This is the second sexual assault in the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP) to produce a costly court settlement. In 2011, the state paid a patient $130,000 after he was assaulted by his roommate.

Human Services officials would not comment Wednesday on what steps they have taken to ensure that staff react when they learn that one patient may be sexually targeting another.

Gubernatorial candidates square off over MSOP in final debate

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11-1-2014 Minnesota:

Governor Mark Dayton's leadership style was questioned Friday night during the final gubernatorial debate leading up to the election.

Minnesota's controversial sex offender treatment program was one of the topics during the debate on Twin Cities Public Television's Almanac program.

An upcoming court ruling could result in freeing many of the civilly committed clients now held indefinitely.

Dayton's republican challenger Jeff Johnson said tonight the governor had the chance to show leadership on this politically charged issue but did not.

"You've been governor for four years and we've known about this problem and you're saying after the election we'll solve it you had the opportunity," said Johnson.

Matter of State v. Donald DD

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10-28-2014 New York:

IN THE MATTER OF STATE OF NEW YORK, Respondent, v. DONALD DD., Appellant.
IN THE MATTER OF STATE OF NEW YORK, Respondent, v. KENNETH T., Appellant.

In Matter of State of New York v Donald DD., we hold that, in a Mental Hygiene article 10 trial, evidence that a respondent suffers from antisocial personality disorder cannot be used to support a finding that he has a mental abnormality as defined by Mental Hygiene Law § 10.03 (i), when it is not accompanied by any other diagnosis of mental abnormality. We dismiss the proceeding in Matter of State of New York v Kenneth T. on the ground of legal insufficiency. We begin our discussion with that appeal. ..Continued..

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Split Court Clarifies Role of ASPD in Civil Confinement

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10-31-2014 New York:

ALBANY - A diagnosis that a person suffers from antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), without any other condition linked to sexual violence, is insufficient to support the finding of mental abnormality needed for civil commitment to a mental heath facility, the state Court of Appeals held.

The ruling clarified what it said was an open question on whether the condition is itself a signal of an offender's propensity to commit sex crimes or an indicator of more general antisocial behavior without links to criminal sexual behavior.

Under Mental Hygiene Law Article 10, a finding of a mental abnormality must be made by a court before it can impose restrictions on offenders upon their release from prison that range from mandatory outpatient treatment to confinement in secure mental health facilities.

Antisocial personality disorder is defined as a condition or disorder that affects the emotional or cognitive capacity of a person in a way that predisposes him or her to commit a sex offense and "results in that person having serious difficulty in controlling such conduct."

Regional Treatment Center Patient Sentenced for Murdering Fellow Patient

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10-30-2014 Minnesota

ST. PETER, MINN. - A man convicted of killing a fellow patient at the Minnesota Security Hospital back in January is sentenced to 17 years in a state prison.

Darnell Whitefeather killed Michael Douglas by stomping on his head as many as 30 times.

Wednesday in court, Whitefeather apologized to the victim's family.

The prosecutor in the case read victim-impact statements from Douglas' family, which were directed at Whitefeather saying at one point "you have reached into my chest and removed my heart."

In court, Whitefeather's public defender questioned Security Hospital staff oversight at the time of the murder.

Tracy Bains, Whitefeather's Public Defender, said, "The tragedy is we have...some of our most mentally ill, dangerous people in a facility and that this occurred should be a question and pause for all of us."

Nicollet County Attorney Michelle Zehnder-Fischer said, "Mr. Whitefeather made a decision because he was mad to assault another patient, so we're here because of the choices and the decisions that Mr. Whitefeather made."