MN- County seeks commitment though man not convicted of sex crime

11-25-2008 Minnesota:

Olmsted County authorities are seeking civil commitment for a 26-year-old man they say is a sexually dangerous person though he has not been convicted of a sexual offense.

Don Ray Saltou is due to be released from prison next month. He was convicted of making terroristic threats stemming from an offense in Rochester in November 2004. Senior Assistant Olmsted County Attorney Geoffrey Hjerleid has filed a petition seeking Saltou's indefinite commitment as a sexually dangerous person or sexual psychopathic personality.

According to the petition, Saltou has admitted to offenses for which he has never been charged that constitute a course of harmful sexual conduct. Hjerleid said the conduct has been continuous and has included contact with children.

Saltou is scheduled for supervised release on Dec. 1. His sentence will expire on April 29, after which he will not be under any supervision in Rochester. He has no release plan and would likely live in emergency housing upon his release, the complaint says.

He was charged in Olmsted District Court in November 2004 with felony making terroristic threats for allegedly threatening to kill a woman. At the time, he lived in Austin. When sentenced in June 2005, his address was in Waltham.

Saltou initially was put on probation for five years and ordered to serve time in jail. That sentence was amended on Sept. 17 this year, when he was ordered to serve 15 months in prison when he violated the terms of his probation. With credit for time served, officials said he would be released after serving about two months. ..News Source.. by Post-Bulletin