Federal funds targeted for improved sex offender registry

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A quarter of a million dollars+ (so far), to know where each sleeps for a few hours of the day or night! And to know names of those in prison and those living in the state civil commitment facility. What a unbelievable waste of taxpayer money.

7-31-2014 North Dakota:

Federal funds will help enhance the North Dakota attorney general’s sex offender website, according to Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem.

The state is receiving $30,000 for the website, according to Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., who announced the grant Tuesday.

Stenehjem said the funding will cover the costs of updating computer software to allow multiple addresses to the sex offender information available to the public through the website. The public will be able to view all residential addresses of a sex offender who moves between a distant job and a home or a school residence and a home. Another update will allow users of the website to access information from out-of-state sex offender registries.

“It will help augment funding we get from the state,” Stenehjem said, referring to state money used to program and operate the sex offenders’ website. “The state has spent almost a quarter million dollars over the last 12 years.”

Heitkamp said the funds are intended for improvements to the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act system, which began during her days as North Dakota attorney general from 1993 to 2001.

Sex offender claims he was unfairly punished for watching HBO

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7-31-2014 Virginia:

RICHMOND, Va. — A human rights advocate for a state facility that provides treatment for civilly committed sex offenders in Virginia has filed a complaint on behalf of one of those sex offenders alleging unfair treatment.

The complaint was filed on July 21, 2014 with the Virginia Center for Behavioral Services and alleges residents at the Virginia Center for Behavioral Rehabilitation (VCBR) were unfairly punished for watching HBO.

VCBR is a residential treatment facility for civilly committed sexually violent predators, according to the facility’s website.

“On the weekend of June the 27th, HBO was offered as a promotional by the cable provider,” committed sex offender Elijah Howell said. Howell and fellow committed sex offender Robert Baugh told us they watched “We Are the Millers” that weekend with approval from a VCBR staff member.

“He said the programming was pre-approved, and there would be no problem with us watching it,” Howell said.

Judge rejects motion by state to throw out suit by North Dakota state hospital sex offenders

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7-27-2014 North Dakota:

FARGO, North Dakota — A judge has rejected a motion to throw out a lawsuit filed in December by two-dozen sex offenders who are civilly committed to the North Dakota state hospital.

The complaint accuses the state of favoring unnecessary punishment over treatment and violating the rights of the plaintiffs by depriving them of a realistic opportunity to be released.

The suit seeks class-action status for all people who have been civilly committed to the state hospital as sexually dangerous individuals.

The state had argued that the suit should be dismissed because the federal government should not be allowed to review the decisions of state district courts. ..Source.. by TheRepublic

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Minn. sex offender program under scrutiny

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7-21-2014 Minnesota:

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Court appointed experts say they were shocked to find people without any adult criminal history committed indefinitely to Minnesota's sex offender program. The testimony came Monday during a fact finding hearing in federal court in Saint Paul, as part of a class action lawsuit filed by clients of the MSOP.

The experts were appointed in January by US District Court Judge Donovan Frank, to evaluate the program, which is already under scrutiny because only one person has ever been released in the 19-year history of the program.

The MSOP is run by the Minnesota Department of Human Services, or DHS, and is designed to treat those offenders who've finished their prison and probation but are still considered to have a high risk of reoffending and haven't responded to treatment during incarceration.

The four experts -- from Florida, New York, Wisconsin and Minnesota -- expect to deliver a full report on the program by the end of August. But, in the meantime, they've alerted Judge Frank and Magistrate Jeffrey Keyes about two examples of persons who don't belong in an intensive sex offender treatment program under lock and key.

One of them is a 24-year-old man identified as E.T., who agreed to be committed to the program in 2008. He has no adult crimes on his record, and was placed in the program based on his actions between ages 10 and 14.

"I believe he should be released into a placement that would provide him with the services that he needs, to learn the simple little things that we all learn at a young age, that he hasn't had the opportunities to learn," his father, Ronald Terhaar of Long Prairie, told KARE.

"The basic skills such as how to appropriately socialize, communicate with people. He's been in such a restrictive environment that it's 'Yes sir, No sir' all the time. And he's told when to get up, when to go to bed, when to eat."

Our View: More bad news for state sex offender program

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7-21-2014 Minnesota:

Now that elected officials refuse to make fixes, federal judge will determine whether to scuttle program, free offenders.

It's normal to cringe at the thought of Minnesota's hardest-core sex offenders living free after they've served their sentences.

No doubt, such feelings are what went into the state creating its Minnesota Sex Offender Program in the 1990s. Now, though, the more details that emerge about the program, the more that program should make Minnesotans cringe.

As evidenced again last week in court hearings in St. Paul, the program clearly exists to do nothing more than keep certain sex offenders incarcerated for life. Even though that was not their sentence.

The hearings — part of a federal class-action lawsuit by offenders seeking their releases — spotlighted how a 24-year-old man remains in the program (and nowhere near release) even though his crimes occurred when he was a juvenile.

As MinnPost reported, many states don't even put people with juvenile offenses in similar programs. To make matters worse, experts testified the man's treatment was essentially wrong because it ignored that the offenses occurred when he was a child. Citing that his sexual behavior has developed into that of a normal young adult during his time in the program, they urged his immediate, unconditional release.

U.S. District Court Judge Donovan Frank said he'll rule within 30 days on this case plus that of the only female sex offender in the program. Her case also was detailed in testimony last week.

Additionally, Frank is overseeing the class-action suit, and it should be noted he already has made clear he has grave concerns about the program's future. A February ruling from him reiterated a message that legislators and governors have ignored for almost 10 years: Fix this program. It's not working, and it's likely unconstitutional.

Jeno's provisional discharge neither granted, nor denied

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7-18-2015 Minnesota:

Robert Jeno left a St. Paul court room on Friday the same way he entered, with unanswered questions about his future.

Jeno, 49, appeared before the state Supreme Court Appeal Panel on Friday to request provisional release from the state's sex offender treatment program in St. Peter.

After more than an hour of testimony, the appeal panel chose to further review Jeno's files, and make a decision on his release at a later date. Jeno was convicted of first degree criminal sexual conduct in 1984, at the age of 19, after repeatedly sexually assaulting a 25-year-old woman in Faribault.

He served a 130-month prison sentence, but was then civilly committed by the state to the Minnesota Sex Offender Program, with facilities in Moose Lake and St. Peter.

Had his release been approved, he would've been the second convicted sex offender in the program's 20-year history to have been released.

Testimony

Just before the testimony began, Chief Judge Karen Asphaug told lawyers representing the state and Jeno that she never received a letter from the state Department of Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson which opposed Jeno's provisional discharge.

The Process Has Begun To Release Civilly-Committed Sex Offenders

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7-16-2015 Minnesota:

A federal court proceeding has cleared the way for what will likely be the release of one, and likely more, sex offenders.

The offenders are civilly committed and housed at state facilities in Moose Lake and St. Peter.

On Tuesday, at a court hearing, a state official agreed to begin the process to release 24-year-old Eric Terhaar. His sex offenses occurred between the time he was 10 and 14 years old.

Terhaar is one of 50 offenders who are civilly committed for crimes they committed when they were minors. If, as widely expected, Terhaar gets out, it’s likely that others in this group will also get out.

Many states do not allow for the civil commitment of sex offenders who committed crimes as juveniles. But Minnesota does, and at a federal court hearing this week experts testified that the Minnesota program is not providing these offenders with adequate treatment.

Wisconsin Supreme Court rules sex offender commitment proceedings can go on without conviction

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7-16-2015 Wisconsin:

The Wisconsin Supreme Court says the state can keep trying to commit a man as a sexually violent offender even though his convictions have been reversed.

Joseph Spaeth was convicted of child enticement in 2009. The state filed a petition to commit him as a sexually violent offender in 2010.

The Supreme Court reversed his convictions in 2012. State attorneys argued commitment proceedings should continue because the petition was valid when they filed it.

The court ruled 4-3 on Wednesday that the proceedings can continue, agreeing the petition was valid when it began. But the court warned the state's position is now weaker.

Local lawmakers react to sex offender panel

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7-15-2014 Minnesota:

Cornish: 'I'm not going to have my signature on it'

Early indications of how a court-appointed panel is thinking about sex offenders — about when to release those who didn't commit crimes as adults — have been disheartening to Rep. Tony Cornish of Vernon Center.

These four specialists seem to be approaching the issue from a different angle than a state-appointed task force that started in 2012, the Republican lawmaker said.

The new panel, which reports to a federal judge, is approaching the civilly committed sex offenders in a “slanted” way, by focusing on who should be released, Cornish said. The state’s panel, which reports to the human services commissioner, had recommendations on how to release sex offenders with conditions, he said.

In any case, though, there’s another big difference between the two approaches — the first one required legislative action to go into effect, and this new one does not.

“The good thing about it is, I’m not going to have my signature on it,” Cornish said. “Whatever happens, happens.”

More sex offenders deserve release from program, experts say

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7-15-2014 Minnesota:

Experts appointed to evaluate the Minnesota Sex Offender Program testified Monday they found several people in the program who are similar to a man they believe should be immediately freed without conditions -- and they plan to issue findings on those individuals by the end of the summer.

Robin Wilson, one of the court-appointed experts evaluating Minnesota's civil commitment program for sex offenders, said the panel began reviewing the placement of certain individuals earlier this year and were shocked to find a young man who was there for sexual offenses committed when he was 10 and 14 years old, as well as a female client who is living alongside male sex offenders.

He called the woman's placement "fundamentally inappropriate," and said the man "should never have been in there in the first place."

The MSOP is the state-run treatment program for sexual offenders who have been civilly committed as sexually dangerous or sexual psychopaths. Nearly 700 people have been committed to high-security facilities in Moose Lake or St. Peter after their prison terms were completed.

In 2011, a group of residents filed a class-action lawsuit alleging the program is unconstitutional because it keeps them locked up indefinitely after they complete their prison sentences. Attorneys argue that amounts to a life sentence. Only one patient has moved through treatment and been successfully released, with provisions, since 1994.

The experts are evaluating the program and individual placement as part of the litigation.

Court keeps (Female) sex offender committed

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7-14-2014 Minnesota:

The Minnesota Appeals Court on Monday ordered a sex offender to remain in a treatment program.

About the time that order was posted, a federal judge elsewhere in St. Paul was hearing that he may be asked to free some sex offenders in the same program.

Marie Roblero-Barrios is not ready to be released, Appeals Judge John P. Smith wrote for the three-judge appeals court.

Roblero-Barrios claimed she has progressed enough in the state Human Services Department’s sexual offender treatment program to be released. But Smith agreed with an earlier appeals panel decision that she should remain in treatment.

Smith referred to Roblero-Barrios as a woman, but earlier court documents called the same person a man when he was known as Wesley Ross Mullins.

After being convicted in the late 1990s for molesting a 6-year-old boy in a retail store restroom, she was committed to the state sex offender treatment program in 2001.

Minnesota Sex Offender Program Questioned, Criticized

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7-14-2015 Minnesota:

A federal judge spent Monday hearing testimony on how offenders are evaluated and treated. The case centers on two patients, but what the judge decides could potentially mean an overhaul for the entire system. That decision could open the door for nearly 700 patients who have been civilly committed in Minnesota.

One case involves the only committed female sex offender in Minnesota. Court-appointed experts testified they were shocked that she is the only female in a facility and treatment program designed for men, and that it's hindering her progress.

They are also focusing on a male offender in his 20s who was civilly committed as a juvenile. The court-appointed panel of experts said he needs to be unconditionally discharged from the state's sex offender program. They testified juvenile offenders are different from adult offenders and need different treatment, and that juveniles do not pose a high risk of re-offending.

Testimony will continue Tuesday. The state is expected to argue that both offenders are still dangerous and should not be released.

After testimony wraps up the judge should rule within a week. ..Source.. by Ellen Galles

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Convicted rapist released from jail to Palmdale area

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7-10-2014 California:

Former Claremont resident and convicted serial rapist Christopher Evan Hubbart has been released from prison. A press release issued by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office confirms the 63-year-old has been placed in a residence located in an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County adjacent to Palmdale.

Mr. Hubbart was the first person ever committed under the Sexually Violent Predator Law. He has been housed at Coalinga State Hospital since 1996, when he was committed by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.

The sexually violent predator had spent nearly 30 years in and out of prison and state mental hospitals when Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Gilbert T. Brown determined in May 2013 that Mr. Hubbart’s ability to pass a psychological exam meant he “would not be a danger to others due to his diagnosed mental disorder while under the supervision and treatment in the community.”

Minnesota Sex Offender Program Establishes Cost of Care Rate as of July 1, 2014

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7-9-2014 Minnesota:

The Department of Human Services Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP) calculates a per diem charge for cost of care for each fiscal year (July 1 through June 30). This rate is the sum of all projected costs divided by the projected client days. This rate is an average of all services provided to clients by MSOP.

Effective July 1, 2014 the charge for the Minnesota Sex Offender Program shall be $341
per day.

The cost of care rate applies to any person admitted to MSOP, including hold orders and
emergency admissions under Minnesota Statutes, section 253B.05., subdivisions. 1 and 2
and Minnesota Statutes, section 253B.045. (PDF)

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Uncertainty surrounds possible release of clients from Minnesota Sex Offender Program

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7-9-2014 Minnesota:

Chris Jackson celebrated his 19th birthday by checking into Minnesota’s treatment program for sex offenders.

Jackson had been in and out of therapy and juvenile detention in Anoka County since he was 12, when his family discovered that he’d sexually abused other children, including his younger step-brother. Even at that age, Jackson said, he was having almost daily sexual interactions with his peers.

But on his first day in the adult Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP) in 1998, Jackson immediately felt out of place. The first person he encountered was an elderly sex offender named “Doc” who asked Jackson to help him hang up some curtains. Jackson obliged.

“He didn’t want his curtains hung up, he wanted to try and touch me while I hung up his curtains,” Jackson said. “I was a kid. I didn’t feel right being there. I kept thinking, ‘Why am I here?’”

Sixteen years later, Jackson isn’t the only one asking that question. Today, he is one of 52 people who were civilly committed to the Minnesota Sex Offender Program after turning 18 — but who have never been charged with a crime as an adult, a legal limbo that has threatened to upend the way the state deals with sex offenders.

State may turn to lockups to house civilly committed sex offenders

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7-3-2014 Texas:

AUSTIN – Texas officials are considering relocating dozens of sex offenders into state lockups – including some at downtown Houston's Kegans State Jail – after a halfway house company demanded the men be removed from its facilities in a dispute over money. ..Source..Sub.. by Mike Ward and Anita Hassan

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Texas civil commitment program melting down

The state's civil commitment program for sex offenders is imploding. The state plans to begin housing sex offenders in secure lockups because a halfway-house vendor is dropping its contract, citing public stigma and inadequate compensation. An attorney at the Harris County public defender told the Houston Chronicle that housing civil-commitment offenders in secure lockups is "clearly illegal." After all, they've already served their criminal sentences and are legally supposed to be undergoing outpatient treatment. Look for significant action on this topic next session, probably led by Sen. John Whitmire and Rep. Sylvester Turner. by Grits for Breakfast

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