Campaign official: Sex offender status is ‘prejudice’

5-17-2010 Massachuetts:

Says treasurer is good job for him

Web Exclusive

Joel Pentlarge, the convicted child rapist who is serving as treasurer for local state House candidate Jeffrey Herman, said in a Gazette phone interview that the state sex offender registration database is a form of “prejudice” and “propaganda.”

“It’s no different than Jim Crow racism in the South,” said Pentlarge, who is registered as a Level 3 sex offender.

Level 3 means the state judges Pentlarge to be at “high risk” for reoffending, though Pentlarge said it is “virtually impossible” for him to do so. Pentlarge, who volunteers at a criminal justice reform organization based in his Hyde Square home, said the sex offender database “absolutely” should be abolished.

Herman, who is aware of Pentlarge’s criminal past, previously told the Gazette that Pentlarge is a “valuable asset” to the campaign because of his expertise in legal reform. Herman previously said he hopes to see Pentlarge in a State House job if he wins the election.

Herman is challenging incumbent state Rep. Jeffrey Sánchez in this fall’s Democratic Party primary for the 15th Suffolk District seat, which roughly covers western Jamaica Plain. Sánchez declined to comment on the record about Pentlarge’s role in Herman’s campaign.

“I am grateful to Jeff Herman for being able to look beyond the prejudice and stereotyping which attaches to anyone with a criminal record, particularly for sex offenses,” Pentlarge wrote in an e-mail to the Gazette. [See the full statement below.] In the phone interview, he added that campaign treasurer is a suitable job for him.

“Ninety-seven percent of people who come out of prison have to work somewhere,” Pentlarge said. “You may not want to put a bank embezzler in charge of financing a campaign. You might not want to put me in charge of an adolescent youth program. So put me in charge of the campaign finances and put the bank embezzler in charge of the adolescent youth program.”

“I’d like to think I’m capable of functioning in a number of dimensions…You don’t want to view everyone in black and white,” Pentlarge said.

Pentlarge was a well-known attorney involved in local government in the Central Massachusetts town of Ware in 1998 when he was charged with sexually abusing four boys ages 12 to 15. “He would befriend the children or their parents and then supply alcohol and/or drugs or gifts of money to gain compliance,” a
Ware-area prosecutor previously told the Gazette about Pentlarge’s crimes.

In 2000, Pentlarge pleaded guilty to five counts of rape and abuse of a child, according to Boston Globe archives. He was released from a prison treatment center and moved to JP in 2006 after a jury hearing determined that he is no longer sexually dangerous. But upon his release, he was put on lifetime parole and is required to register with the state as a Level 3 sex offender.

Among other things, that means that his description and all home and work addresses are public information on the state Sex Offender Registry Board (SORB) web site (accessible via the Executive Office of Public Safety page at www.mass.gov).

Pentlarge blasted the sex offender database in the Gazette interview.

“When you say ‘high risk sex offender,’ you’re stating that as presumptive fact, and really you’re accepting—hook, line and sinker—the propaganda of a government bureaucracy” that is bloated and ineffectual, he said.

He said his opinion might be different “if my status as a sex offender told anybody anything useful, like [about] my ability to balance Jeff Herman’s books.”

The Gazette noted that Pentlarge committed his crimes while holding positions in local government, and that he is once again becoming involved in local government. Asked whether he understands how that might raise concerns, Pentlarge noted that he served as chair of the Ware Conservation Commission and that there were no allegations that he directly used that power to commit his crimes. His crimes also did not effect his government service, he said.

“The Conservation Commission in Ware functioned most effectively in the 10 years I was chairman,” he said, adding, “Can I prove that? No.”

He added that, while his was disbarred for committing crimes, there were no allegations that he mismanaged clients’ funds when he was a lawyer.

Asked whether his activism to abolish sex offender laws is self-serving, Pentlarge said, “Self-serving?” The Gazette noted it would be convenient for him if there was no registration, and that he is not an unbiased authority on the subject.

“No, but the people I’m citing are,” he said, referring to what he said are numerous studies that sex offender registration laws are “defeating the purpose, which is to reduce crime.” Registration can make it hard for an offender to find a job or a place to live, possibly pushing them into property crime, he said.

Asked about his own likelihood to abuse children again, Pentlarge said, “I’ll be 60 at the end of June. I’ve been out of prison four years.”

“My actual crime is not rape, but statutory rape,” Pentlarge said, making the distinction that his rapes did not involve direct use of force. He described statutory rape as “in effect, consensual relationships with people below the age to legally consent.” Asked to clarify that he agrees that such acts are crimes, he said, “Oh, yeah, yeah.”

People who commit such rapes have very low rates of repeating their offenses—1 to 2 percent, Pentlarge claimed, speaking frequently of his crimes in an academic context.

Asked how he judges his personal likelihood to reoffend based on his own self-knowledge, Pentlarge said, “I think it’s extremely unlikely, virtually impossible.” But, he added, “Anecdotal evidence gets you nowhere. You have to look at the big picture.” He urged the Gazette to investigate studies on how ineffectual sex offender registration is.

Herman previously told the Gazette that Sánchez is aware of Pentlarge’s past and refuses to shake his hand when they meet. Pentlarge said he has asked for Sánchez’s assistance on two legislative efforts and was disappointed by Sanchez’s lack of action.

One was a bill Pentlarge wanted Sanchez to introduce in the state legislature. The bill called for putting prisoners out on parole much sooner and ending mandatory minimum sentences on drug offenses, all to save money and reduce repeat offenses.

“He wouldn’t file it. He felt I was going too far,” Pentlarge said of Sanchez.

“My other big beef with [Sánchez] is his unwillingness to look at medical marijuana,” Pentlarge said. In a controversial move earlier this year, Sánchez allowed a bill that would legalize the medical use of marijuana to die in a House committee. Herman has cited the issue as a main reason for his campaign.

Pentlarge has served as treasurer and executive director of the Criminal Justice Policy Coalition, the organization based at his home, and has been active with a sex offender law reform campaign through the web site ReformSexOffenderLaws.org. He was a donor to the campaign of current Gov. Deval Patrick in 2006, according to the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance database.

Pentlarge’s statement

Pentlarge’s May 17 written statement to the Gazette, sent via e-mail:

I first learned about Jeff Herman’s candidacy for State Representative for the 15th Suffolk District from an article in your paper. After reading your article, I met with Jeff Herman and was very impressed at how open-minded and politically progressive he is. Jeff Herman does not allow conventional prejudices and stereotypes to distort his opinions. He is not a politician, but we need someone who will both accurately represent the progressive constituency of Jamaica Plain, and who will confront head-on the very difficult problems we face without first calculating what is the best political position for him.

I am grateful to Jeff Herman for being able to look beyond the prejudice and stereotyping which attaches to anyone with a criminal record, particularly for sex offenses. Just the experience of being convicted, publicly excoriated and spending 5 and ½ years in prison (3 ½ as a sentence, 2 as an extended sentence misnamed civil commitment) makes me a different person today. Jeff Herman is able to look at me as I am today and appreciate that I can help him stay in strict compliance with the plethora of campaign finance regulations. Jeff Herman put me in this position knowing that every contribution and every expense will be a public record, open and available online for inspection by everyone, as it should be.

I consider it a privilege to be able to work for Jeff Herman’s candidacy. I know what it is to be disenfranchised. (Since November 2000, convicted felons cannot vote in Massachusetts while they are in prison.) The right to vote is precious, and its value is enhanced when you can actively work to elect a progressive candidate like Jeff Herman. ..Source.. by John Ruch