Civilly Committed!

---

Aug 2015:

A protest to the New Jersey civil commitment of Russell Tinsley by same.

Book available from Amazon

Criminal Matter: HERE
Civil Commitment Matter: HERE

---

Why Sex Criminals Get Locked Up Forever

---

1-28-17 New Jersey:

Even after serving decades-long sentences, sex offenders are often held indefinitely in prison-like conditions—a situation that critics say is legally and ethically dubious.

Gilbert Greenfield sits upright in the chair, his body tense, a blood-pressure cuff attached to his left arm. A sensor is strapped around his chest, and two more cap his fingertips to measure how much he's sweating.

The polygrapher asks a question: "During the past year, have you fantasized about inflicting pain while having forced sexual intercourse with a female?"

"No," Greenfield responds.

The polygrapher prompts Greenfield again: "During the past year, have you masturbated to sexual fantasies about forcing a female to have sexual intercourse with you?"

"No," he replies.

Why Some Young Sex Offenders Are Held Indefinitely

---

Listen to this report which first talks about Jhon Sanchez: Inside the world of New Jersey's civil commitment

1-27-16 New Jersey:

Jhon Sanchez already served his time for a series of sex offenses he committed when he was 13. But he’s not free yet. Inside the world of civil commitment.

On the afternoon of Jhon Sanchez’s 18th birthday, three parole officers showed up at his home in West New York, N.J. Sanchez was in his slippers and shorts, and when his mother asked if she could grab her son something else to wear, an officer assured her that Sanchez would be gone only for a little while.

That was five years ago.

Sanchez is behind bars, but he is not in a regular prison. He is considered a resident, one who is detained involuntarily and indefinitely at the Special Treatment Unit for sexually violent predators, commonly known as Avenel. He is among 428 people who have been “civilly committed” at the facility, all of them living in limbo.

Although they have already served prison sentences for their crimes, these inmates have been classified by state psychologists as unfit to return to society.

The civil commitment of “sexually violent predators” is intended to protect the public: In theory, offenders are offered extensive therapy to help them learn to control sexual impulses. But an analysis by The Marshall Project shows most people who enter civil commitment programs nationwide are detained for years and, in most cases, have a slim chance of being released. About 15 percent of the 579 people who have been committed at Avenel since the program’s inception in 1999 have been discharged to the community after treatment.

The state estimates there are 15 patients at Avenel who were never convicted as an adult but were sent to Avenel, indefinitely, once they complete their sentences. Public defenders and attorneys for the residents put the number at 30.

Paterson man who sexually assaulted River Vale boy, 4, will be sent to treatment center

---

7-12-15 New Jersey:

EXCLUSIVE REPORT: A judge in Hackensack yesterday handed down a 10-year sentence to a Paterson man who used his friendship with a River Vale family to sexually assault a 4-year old boy.

Jason Martini, 29, will begin his sentence in state prison and will then be transferred to the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center at Avenel once a bed becomes available, based on an evaluation that deemed him a repetitive and compulsive offender, Superior Court Judge James J. Guida said.

Although he pleaded guilty to a lesser crime in exchange for the sentence, Martini admitted that he made the boy give him oral sex.

Given the opportunity to speak on his behalf, he declined.

The child, now 7, “is in therapy every week,” the heartbroken mother told the judge.

“My poor little boy was only 4 years old at the time,” she said. “I had to stop working a very good job so I don’t have to leave him with anyone.”

Defense attorney Harley Breite called it “a very sad case.”

DOC Report to the Legislature

---

July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2014

Shore Lawmakers: Sex Offenders in State Custody Should Have Wages Reduced

---

1-15-2015 New Jersey:

A pair of Ocean County lawmakers say convicted sex offenders who are civilly committed, but not in prison, should be paid the same amount of money as those who are serving jail terms.

A bill proposed Thursday by Senator Jim Holzapfel and Assemblyman Greg McGuckin (both R-Ocean) would require civilly committed sexually violent predators to be paid the same rate as state inmates for work performed while in custody “to provide savings for taxpayers.”

Sex offenders may be civilly committed after serving prison terms to allow for further treatment or to reduce their potential to harm the public, the two legislators said in a statement. But while those serving time in state prisons are compensated for work their perform while in custody at a rate of $1.25 to $5 per day, earning an average of $2.33 per day, civilly committed offenders offenders at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center at Avenel are paid the state minimum wage, currently $8.38 per hour.

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

---

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.

Can sex offender represent himself at commitment hearing? NJ Supreme Court will decide

---

5-15-2014 New Jersey:

On May 7, 2014, the Supreme Court of New Jersey heard oral argument on whether convicted sex offenders may represent themselves in their own civil commitment hearing. Defendant, known as D.Y., was convicted of first-degree aggravated sexual assault against a child in 1999. After having served fifteen (15) years in prison, and prior to being released, D.Y. must undergo a civil commitment hearing pursuant to the Sexually Violent Predator Act (SVPA). D.Y. wishes to represent himself at the hearing, however, the Attorney General's Office opposes D.Y.'s request on the basis that it has never been done before. ..Source.. by Maynard & Sumner, LLC of Maynard & Sumner, LLC

---

Psychologist fired, faces loss of license after alleged relationship with sex offender patient

---

7-2-2010 New Jersey:

A top state psychologist who oversaw therapy for hundreds of incarcerated sex offenders was fired for allegedly having a sexual affair with a patient, two lawyers involved in the case said.

The ongoing internal investigation centers on the relationship between Natalie Barone, the psychologist, and Michael Bordo, a sex offender, according to Bordo’s state-assigned lawyer, Mary Foy.

She said the sexual misconduct allegedly occurred when Barone was his therapist at one of two specialized institutions for sex offenders in Avenel.

Barone’s lawyer, Jack Furlong, denied she did anything wrong.

"I’ve yet to have anyone substantiate those allegations to what any fair-minded person would consider a standard of evidence," he said.

The internal investigation began last year when an off-duty corrections officer spotted Barone and Bordo taking a summertime stroll down a Jersey Shore boardwalk, according to three state officials with knowledge of the case.

The Department of Human Services would only say it dismissed Barone on April 30 for conduct unbecoming and violating policies on relationships with patients.

Barone has appealed her firing and requested an administrative hearing. She may face more sanctions, according to the attorney general’s office. Spokesman Paul Loriquet said her psychologist license is being reviewed and could be revoked by the State Board of Psychological Examiners. State rules prohibit psychologists from sexual relationships with patients within two years of therapy ending.

Barone was a top official within the state’s civil commitment program, which keeps sex offenders deemed particularly dangerous locked up after their prison sentences have been completed. While the Department of Corrections runs the facilities and provides security, Human Services provides treatment through psychologists such as Barone.

Bordo was civilly committed after serving a prison sentence for sexually assaulting two teenage girls. During his confinement in Avenel, he received one-on-one counseling from Barone, according to his former lawyer, Heather Ellis. Furlong would not comment on any therapy sessions.

Human Services did not publicly disclose Barone’s firing until facing inquiries from The Star-Ledger. Spokeswomen there declined to discuss the investigation in detail because it is an internal disciplinary matter. And little information is available on Bordo because civilly committed sex offenders are technically considered patients, not inmates.

CROSSED PATHS

Barone, 37, began her job as administrator of psychological services in 2002, the number two position in the civil commitment program’s therapeutic operations. That made her responsible for about 100 staff members providing treatment to New Jersey’s 426 civilly committed sex offenders, currently housed at two Avenel facilities called special treatment units. Her state salary was $92,422 a year.

By law, therapy is supposed to be an integral part of day-to-day confinement within the facilities. A special court determines whether sex offenders should be released by evaluating how far they have progressed in their therapy and how likely they are to commit a new sex crime.

Bordo, 33, took a very different path to Avenel. He was 19 years old when he was arrested in Cape May County for entering a bedroom being shared by two teenage girls he knew and sexually assaulting both, said Meghan Hoerner, an assistant prosecutor there. In 1996 he pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated criminal sexual contact and was sentenced to five years in prison.

As he neared the end of his sentence, New Jersey passed a new law allowing authorities to civilly commit sex offenders. Bordo was one of the first people in the state to be civilly committed, according to Ellis, his former lawyer.

In 2007, the court used to evaluate the sex offenders said Bordo should be released because he was no longer highly likely to commit a new sex crime, Ellis said. But she said facility officials recommended against the release, saying Bordo wasn’t ready.

"Because he was locked up so young, he didn’t have any life skills. He’s been raised in an institution," she said. "The goal was to get him prepared as much as they could."

The institution’s view of Bordo changed, she said, after he began one-on-one counseling with Barone in December 2008. Ellis, who represented dozens of sex offenders during her career at the public advocate’s office, said it was uncommon for any therapist to provide individual counseling at the facility, let alone one of the institution’s top people.

RELEASE AND RETURN

Bordo was released June 3, 2009, free for the first time in 13 years.

That summer an off-duty corrections officer working a security job on the side spotted Bordo with Barone on the boardwalk in Seaside Heights, three officials said. An internal investigation was conducted by the Department of Human Services, spokeswoman Ellen Lovejoy said.

Furlong did not comment on whether Barone and Bordo were together on the boardwalk.

Around that time Bordo ran into trouble, records show. On Aug. 3 he was stopped for running a stop sign in Newark. Police said he was driving without a valid license and had marijuana in the car, according to records from Newark municipal court.

Bordo was returned to Avenel for violating his conditional discharge, which was contingent on him staying out of trouble with the law.

The records show all the Newark charges against Bordo were dismissed except for the $239 fine for driving without a valid license, which he paid on Nov. 12. Even though he had not committed a new sex crime, authorities successfully pushed to get him recommitted. He is now in Avenel for more treatment, said Foy, his lawyer who is an assistant deputy public advocate.

As the investigation continued, Barone was suspended without pay on Oct. 10, according to Human Services.

Furlong said Barone tried to resign but the department did not accept her resignation and pushed ahead with the termination proceedings. Lovejoy said the department addressed the matter appropriately. "The department takes action when a policy violation has been determined," she said.

Furlong would not say whether Barone and Bordo had an affair, saying he had "no comment on the rumor mill." He would not make her available for an interview.

Barone is currently planning a life beyond New Jersey and no longer lives or works in the state, Furlong said. She also withdrew from a private psychology practice in Somerville last year.

"The circumstances as they presented themselves last summer made it clear the state of New Jersey was no longer a hospitable place to work," Furlong said.

But she appears to still want to work in the same field. Two days before she was fired by the Department of Human Services she obtained a new license to practice psychology in Pennsylvania. Charles Young, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of State, said authorities will review Barone’s case. He would not say what action the state might take, but said if she loses her license in New Jersey, she might also lose it in Pennsylvania. ..Source..

---

Woodbridge's East Jersey State Penitentary receiving 162 civilly-committed sex offenders

---

3-29-2010 New Jersey:

WOODBRIDGE — As many as 162 civilly-committed sex offenders now housed in a temporary facility in South Kearny will be coming to Woodbridge, the state Department of Corrections announced today.

The change is the result of a May 2009 court ruling that ordered the offenders to be moved.

Matthew Schuman, spokesman for the state Department of Corrections, said the sex offenders will be in place in the "stand-alone, secure unit'' at East Jersey State Prison in Avenel by mid-May. They will live apart from the prison's inmates, he said.

"The decision's been made. It's just a matter of following through now,'' Schuman said.

Schuman said the move will save the state $2.3 million - the lease money it paid to Hudson County for the South Kearny facility.

Woodbridge already has a facility for civilly-committed sex offenders: the Special Treatment Unit Annex on the grounds of East Jersey. It opened in 2001 and now houses about 250 civilly-committed sex offenders. The new facility will be separate from the annex, Schuman said.

Township officials say they haven't had any problems with the Special Treatment Unit Annex.

There is also the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Avenel, which houses inmates serving terms for sexual offenses.

Civilly-committed offenders are those whose prison terms have ended but are deemed unfit for release under the 1998 Sexually Violent Predators Act.

Over the years, East Jersey has emerged as one option for setting up a permanent facility for the civilly committed sexual offenders. In 1999 the township vehemently opposed a 300-bed, $50 million sex-offender facility proposed to be built at East Jersey.

As part of ongoing cost-saving measures, the department also announced the closing of the gang unit at Northern State Prison in Newark. The unit relied heavily on programming to convince gang leaders or violent gang members of renouncing their membership, Schuman said. Those inmates will be reassigned throughout the prison system, he said.

No layoffs will result in the changes, Schuman said.

"It's never good getting more of any type of criminal, but the good news is that we are losing 450 hardcore violent criminals from East Jersey State Prison, which are being spread throughout the rest of the state,'' Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac said Friday.

"In addition, the Outpatient Sex Offender Counseling Unit at the Avenel Diagnostic Treatment Center will be closing in a compromise we reached with the state. So there will be 77 less people coming in and out of the town everyday. We may be picking up 161, but we're losing 527, and that's a good trade for Woodbridge residents.'' ..Source.. KEN SERRANO • Staff Writer

---

New Jersey plans to relocate 150 sex offenders to East Jersey State Prison in Woodbridge

---

3-27-2010 New Jersey:

TRENTON – The Department of Corrections will relocate about 150 sex offenders to a high-security unit at East Jersey State Prison in Woodbridge, officials announced today. The decision ends a decade-long political fight as officials sought a permanent place to house an unpopular group of offenders.

“The plan is to keep them (at East Jersey) permanently,” Corrections spokesman Matt Schuman said. “This is not going to be another temporary or Band-Aid solution.”

The state is required to move the civilly committed sex offenders — those who have completed their prison terms but are judged too dangerous to be released — out of a facility in Kearny, in Hudson County, by mid-May to comply with a court decision issued last year. They will be held at East Jersey State Prison in a separate, 324-bed building that has housed inmates with disciplinary problems.

The state incarcerates about 400 civilly committed sex offenders, who are guarded by Corrections and provided therapy by the Department of Human Services. About 250 are now housed in Woodbridge, at the Special Treatment Unit Annex near East Jersey. Schuman said some of those offenders will be moved to the prison to alleviate overcrowding at the annex.
Woodbridge Councilman Robert Luban said the township is being used as “a dumping ground.”

Councilman Greg Bedard, who represents the Avenel ward containing the prison, said he is “devastated.”

Woodbridge, with about 100,000 residents, has a prison population of almost 3,000.
In return for the township’s acceptance of more sex offenders at East Jersey, said Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac, the state will shut an outpatient service at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center, a third prison facility in the township. That means almost 80 fewer released sex offenders will be treated in the township, said McCormac.

“That was a major concession we received,” he said.

State officials did not say when they will start moving the sex offenders. Hudson County Executive Thomas DeGise said the state has been tight-lipped.

New Jersey has incarcerated sex offenders by civil commitment since 2000, but both Kearny and the annex were to be temporary facilities. Proposals to relocate the offenders repeatedly encountered local opposition.

“This wasn’t anything new. But now they’re scrambling,” said Gregory Kelley, president of a prison officers union. “It was poor planning.”

Kelley said he’s disappointed problem inmates will no longer be isolated in a separate building at East Jersey. Schuman said everyone will be relocated appropriately.

In unrelated actions, state prison officials also plan to convert a special unit for gang members at Northern State Prison, in Newark, and another for inmates serving life without parole at New Jersey State Prison, in Trenton, into general population housing. Both units, with nearly 300 beds total, have high vacancy rates, Schuman said. ..Source.. Chris Megerian/Statehouse Bureau

---

New Jersey considers transferring jailed sex offenders to East Jersey State Prison

---

2-3-2010 New Jersey:

WOODBRIDGE -- New Jersey is quietly discussing plans to transfer at least 160 jailed sex offenders to East Jersey State Prison in Woodbridge, officials said today.

The proposal is already generating fierce local opposition. The state is required to move the civilly committed sex offenders — those who have completed their prison terms but are judged too dangerous to be released — out of a facility in Kearny by May 18 to comply with a court decision issued last year.

The proposal would relocate the sex offenders from Kearny to a high security unit at East Jersey, in a building separate from the main prison facility, said the officials, who asked not to be named because they are not permitted to discuss internal deliberations. Inmates with disciplinary problems currently housed in the unit would be transferred or returned to the general population.

"They want to keep this low key," said one official at the prison. "People are upset."

Department of Corrections spokesman Matt Schuman said a final decision has not been made. Sen. Joe Vitale (D-Middlesex) said East Jersey, in the Avenel section of Woodbridge, is one of several options being considered as the state rushes to comply with last year’s court order.

"It’s last-minute decision making," he said. "There isn’t a strategic long-term plan."

The state incarcerates 412 civilly committed sex offenders who are guarded by Corrections and are provided therapy by the Department of Human Services. About 250 are already housed in Woodbridge, at the Special Treatment Unit Annex near East Jersey.

Woodbridge, with about 100,000 residents, has a prison population of almost 3,000. In addition to East Jersey and the Annex, it’s also home to the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center, which houses sex offenders serving criminal sentences.

A political firestorm erupted when the state pushed to move more sex offenders to Woodbridge a decade ago. Today, the township’s elected officials said Corrections has kept them in the dark.

"They’re not calling local officials," Vitale said. "We should be included in those discussions."

Councilman Robert Luban said he’s outraged township officials "were not notified in advance that they were even thinking about this."

Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex) said it would be wrong to dump more prisoners in Woodbridge.

"Enough is enough," he said. "There are plenty of other places that could share the burden."

In 2000, then-Gov. Christie Whitman issued an executive order placing the Kearny facility under state control, claiming authority under the Disaster Control Act, which allows the governor to exercise emergency powers to protect residents.

Since then, officials have scoured the state for a permanent home, but proposals continuously encountered local opposition. Last year, the Appellate Division ordered the state to vacate the Kearny facility by May 18, saying it cannot claim an emergency of "indefinite duration."

Corrections has moved quietly to address the issue. Hudson County Counsel Don Battista said an inquiry from the county’s lawyers received a terse reply on Jan. 19: "The state is not required to advise you of our plans."

Housing civilly committed sex offenders has grown increasingly costly as the population increases.

"The Annex is way overcrowded," said Joan Van Pelt, an attorney at the Department of the Public Advocate. "They’ve double bunked all of the dorms. They’re taking treatment rooms and turning them into dormitories." ..Source.. Chris Megerian/Statehouse Bureau

---

Sex Felons Must Move, Court Says

---

5-19-2009 New Jersey:

KEARNY - New Jersey will have to find a new place to house sexually violent predators currently being held in Hudson County.

An appeals court yesterday gave the New Jersey State Department of Corrections a year to move the offenders from the county correctional facility along Lincoln Highway in Kearny, where they've been held since August 1999.

More than 150 sex offenders are housed at the facility. They have completed their prison sentences but are considered too dangerous to be allowed back into society.

The county brought a lawsuit to prevent the sex offenders from being placed there in July 1999. In September 2000, former Gov. Christie Whitman invoked "emergency powers" to keep them there, county officials said.

The appellate panel ruled the sex offenders could no longer be kept at the facility on the premise of an "emergency" and must be relocated in a year.

"Needless to say we are pleased," said county spokesman Jim Kennelly. "We always believed this was an inappropriate place for these individuals."

Assemblywoman Joan Quigley, D-Jersey City, also applauded the court ruling.

"We never felt it was a secure enough facility," Quigley said. "Every month more persons were assigned to be held in this sex offender hotel. It is getting more overcrowded and it is not an adequate facility for them."

Quigley noted that a prison in Camden is being emptied and the sex offenders could be moved there.

The Department of Corrections referred phone calls to the state Attorney General's Office, which did not return phone calls. ..News Source.. by KEN THORBOURNE, JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

---