IA- Lawmakers try to close sex offender loophole

Effectively they are speaking of something in the nature of juvenile civil commitment, which would prevent release of the juvenile at the end of his/her sentence.

3-19-2009 Iowa:

Lawmakers said Wednesday they would work this year to try to close a loophole in Iowa law that allowed a teenage sex offender to "age out" of Iowa's juvenile justice system after he committed a felony and failed to complete treatment.

State Sen. Keith Kreiman, D-Bloomfield, and Rep. Clel Baudler, R-Greenfield, said they were exploring language to add to existing sex-offender legislation that would allow for the confinement of serious juvenile sex offenders and require treatment after they turn age 18. The two said they will likely schedule a public committee hearing in the next week to discuss that and other changes under consideration to Iowa's sex offender laws.

The move came a day after the family of a 9-year-old sexual assault victim told The Des Moines Register that state leaders had ignored their pleas to act to prevent Dustin Richards of Ames and others like him from abusing other children. Richards was released from treatment a day after he aged out of the juvenile system, even though he had said on more than one occasion he would likely offend again.

"This is to me a very unique situation," said Kreiman, who met Wednesday at the Statehouse with the grandmother and mother of Richards' victim.

Ineffective law

Kreiman and Baudler said the case underscored the ineffectiveness of a controversial state law that aimed to prevent new sex offenses by restricting where convicted offenders live. Law enforcement, prosecutors and sex-abuse experts have all been pushing lawmakers to replace the law with something more effective, saying residency requirements don't work.

"It's not significantly protecting people," Kreiman said.

Richards' former foster mother also told the Register Wednesday that the Iowa Department of Human Services placed him in her home without disclosing he reportedly had a history of sexually troublesome behavior. The department knew other children were being cared for in the home at the time.

"They knew he had problems like this, and we should have been told from the get-go," said Tammy Rivera, who cared for Richards for several months in 2005.

State issues denial

Roger Munns, a spokesman for the state social-service agency, denied the family wasn't properly informed about the boy's history, saying placement workers make sure foster parents "know the proclivities of these children."

"Children who would pose a threat to other kids sexually, or any other way, are not to be placed in families where there are vulnerable children," he said.

Richards was 14 and living in the foster home when he molested the Mahaska County girl, then 6, who was spending the night. He was charged with second-degree sexual abuse, deemed a delinquent and ordered to seek treatment.

Had Richards been an adult, state law would have required that he complete treatment to be released from prison early. He also would have been tracked by probation officers and electronic surveillance for several years.

Because he was a minor, however, he was released after he aged out of the juvenile system in October.

Rivera, who baby-sat several other children and had a baby girl at the time of the assault, said she had Richards removed from her home after the incident.

"What bothered me was, who else had he done this to?" she said. "Our daughter?"

Ward of state

Juvenile court records show a judge released Richards as a ward of the state last year, even though his lack of progress was documented. By then, the court had approved numerous services overseen by the Department of Human Services, including family counseling, foster care, shelter and group care placements, as well as stints at medical centers and residential psychiatric facilities.

"Significant concerns continue to exist in regard to Dustin's ability to honor personal boundaries and engage in healthy patterns of behavior, based upon his own admissions," Associate Judge Emily Dean's report stated. "The court has grave concerns in regard to the utter lack of support in the community upon Dustin turning 18 years of age tomorrow."

Nonetheless, Dean terminated Richards' status as a ward of the state the following day and ordered him to report to the Lee County Sheriff's Department as a registered sex offender.

Story County sheriff's officials were unable to confirm Wednesday whether Richards still lived at an Ames motel, and the Register was unable to reach him for comment. ..News Source.. by LEE ROOD