VT- 'The check is in the mail'

10-7-2008 Vermont:

State funds to assist jailed sex offender's release to local motel

BENNINGTON — A case that may have raised constitutional issues about the state's ability to keep sex offenders in custody is moving toward resolution without resolving that issue.

Richard A. Cavagnaro, 58, of Bennington, was scheduled to be released from Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield on Sept. 21. Cavagnaro had agreed to plead guilty to three counts of lewd and lascivious conduct with a child as part of an agreement that said he would serve a year in prison.

However, as a convicted sex offender, Cavagnaro is required to seek the Vermont Department of Correction's approval of his living arrangements. When Cavagnaro was scheduled for release he had no home.

The state filed charges that Cavagnaro had violated the conditions of his probation, but Public Defender Frederick Bragdon argued that Cavagnaro was homeless because of a lack of resources.

The state argued that Cavagnaro had been given some phone privileges starting about six weeks before his release date, but had failed to take sufficient action to find a place to live.

On Monday, Bragdon told Judge John Wesley in Bennington District Court that Cavagnaro was scheduled to receive some money from a Department of Corrections fund that helps inmates reintegrate into society after their release from prison.

Bragdon asked for a brief hearing on Wednesday to report to Wesley on whether or not the money had arrived.

"The check's in the mail," Bragdon said.

Cavagnaro has made arrangements to stay at a motel on Main Street in Bennington as soon as he receives the money. The motel has been approved by the Department of Corrections as acceptable housing for a sex offender.

After the hearing, Bragdon said he didn't plan to raise the issue of whether the state can hold a sex offender past his or her release date if the offender doesn't have a home.

"I'm not going to fight that until I have to. I might lose," he said.

Bragdon said he may raise the issue if the state does not withdraw the probation violation charge once Cavagnaro has a place to live.

Bennington County State's Attorney Erica Marthage said her office wasn't taking a position on the larger question.

Marthage said she believed Cavagnaro's inaction had led to having no place to live which led the state to take action.

During Cavagnaro's hearing in September, Bragdon said Cavagnaro could not return to the home where he lived before his prison sentence because a young child lived there.

Cavagnaro pleaded guilty in September 2007 to three counts of lewd and lascivious conduct with a child, all of which involved touching underage girls. Two other charges for the same offense were dismissed by the state.

Cavagnaro will continue to be held without bail until Wednesday's court appearance by agreement between prosecuting and defense attorneys. ..News Source.. by Patrick McArdle