CT- Officials back off of arrest of sex offender

9-13-2008 Connecticut:

SOUTHBURY -- Court officials withdrew the arrest warrant Friday that charged convicted rapist David Pollitt with violating the conditions of his probation.

John Kaloidis, Pollitt's lawyer, said a prosecutor in New London Superior Court withdrew the warrant after receiving letters from Pro-Tech Monitoring, which operates Pollitt's GPS tracking system.

Pollitt, who was released from prison last fall after serving 25 years for multiple sexual assault convictions, was charged with a probation violation Wednesday for allegedly leaving his sister's residence on Fox Run Drive for about 15 minutes.

Pollitt and his attorney claimed he was in the backyard the entire time of the alleged violation and that the tracking system malfunctioned.

The letter from Pro-Tech said after reviewing the case they found the readings "are not accurate" and they cannot say "that he left the area."

Kaloidis blamed political pressure for the rush to make an arrest. Gov. M. Jodi Rell called for Pollitt to be returned to prison Wednesday on the alleged probation violation. Kaloidis accused Rell of leading the "lynch mob" against his client.

"The governor jumped and convicted this man without knowing any of the facts or doing an investigation," Kaloidis said. "She was playing politics."

Janice Rosengren, Pollitt's sister, said she was relieved by the court's decision.

"David said he was in the back yard and he was telling the truth," she said. "I'm
very frustrated right now."

She added that her brother's tracking device has had more than 45 faulty readings since his release from prison last October.

"It will go off in the middle of the night, when he's in bed," she said, adding that officials call soon after the device goes off to check on his whereabouts.

"It's gotten so bad we put the phone next to him at night, so it doesn't wake the rest of the family up," Rosengren said.

The incident sparked an outcry from officials across the state, who are calling for an investigation into the monitoring technology and its effectiveness.

"The problem is we rely on this technology to keep track of these guys, and apparently it's not working," said state Rep. Michael Lawlor, D-East Haven, who serves as chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

Rell and state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal also called for an investigation into the technology.

"There is simply no excuse for this malfunction -- or any failure in so critical a service," Blumenthal said in a statement released Friday. "This company owes the state a full explanation, and we will demand it immediately as a contractual right and ethical imperative."

William Carbone, executive director of Court Support Services for the state's Judicial Branch, which oversees the probation department, said the GPS systems are not perfect but are a useful tool. He added that the tracking device relies on cellular towers.

"There are times during monitoring when a signal strength is low or lost," he said. "In this case our officers followed the proper protocol."

He said the probation officers in the case received both verbal and written confirmation from Pro-Tech that Pollitt was in an area that violated his probation.

"It was on that basis they went forward with the warrant," Carbone said.

He added, however, that on further examination, company officials found the readings were not accurate.

"The company definitely made a mistake," Carbone said. "In this instance they did not ensure that this matter was being reviewed by people whose opinion they could stand behind, and they have an obligation to do that."

He said an internal group has been put together to more closely examine the situation and decide on the department's future use of the company.

Kaloidis said he will review whether Pollitt and his family can file a lawsuit against state officials.

Officials with Pro-Tech could not be reached for comment, nor could the prosecutor in the case, State's Attorney Michael Regan. ..News Source.. by Dirk Perrefort, Staff Writer