June 3, 2011

Sex offenders get parole without participating in treatment programs

6-3-2011 New Hampshire:

CONCORD — Sex offenders who have been unwilling to participate in treatment programs were released by the state Adult Parole Board Thursday, but not by its choice.

“Here’s this guy trading ‘favors’ in prison for chocolate bars, and we’ve got to release him — and they (legislators) are still waffling on the bill,” said Alan Coburn, who served as chairman of the Adult Parole Board Thursday.

He referred to revisions to last year’s Senate Bill 500, an overhaul of the state parole system.

Senate Bill 53, which would return more latitude to the board in such cases, is the subject of a committee of conference between the House and Senate versions.

Under last year’s provisions, Senate Bill 500 requires inmates to be released to supervision nine months in advance of their maximum parole date. It also limits the board to returning parolees to no more than 90 days behind bars.

Phillip Emil Patch Jr., 74, of Concord, a convicted child sex offender who has taken no treatment, will be on the street Aug. 6.

Sentenced to two to four years in August 2009, he was advised to complete intensive sex offender treatment.

His corrections counselor has written: “Patch appears to have done as little as possible during his stay here, however disturbingly, he did trade sexual favors for candy bars with younger inmates. I believe that inmate Patch is an extremely dangerous predator who should be civilly committed.”

In his explanation of why he should be released, Patch simply wrote “SB 500.”

The board also released Darin Linn Schroyer, 45, of Lake Oswego, Ore., convicted of two counts of second-degree assault.

The indictment accused him of raping a female under age 13 in Portsmouth from 1997 to 2001, but he was convicted of lesser charges and received two concurrent terms of 1 1/2 to 3 years.

His minimum parole date was Nov. 28, 2010, but he was denied parole because of his failure to take sex offender training.

He insisted he is not a sex offender.

He will be released to live in Hampton Aug. 30.

Schroyer said he has not done sex offender training but explained he had “complied with all of the terms of my sentence.”

Also released because of SB 500 Thursday was John D. Polito, 49 of Manchester. He will be released Aug. 2. He is eligible for Social Security benefits of $674 a month.

Polito was convicted with four counts of burglary.

He recently received a “write-up” or report of bad behavior from the halfway house he was living in when he allegedly told someone to “burn this house down.”

Polito was, however, paroled because of SB 500.

Coburn urged Polito, “Don’t blow this. I know you are not going to get all that you want. ... Get out Aug. 2, get straightened out, go to your meetings, stay on your medication” and pay restitution of $15,400. ..Source.. by PAULA TRACY, New Hampshire Union Leader

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This is a fine example of the fact that if someone is not willing to change, no amount of "forced" treatment will change them. These people don't want to change. It's just that simple. So, instead of focusing on the few who don't want to change, why not focus on those that do. Instead of spending huge amounts of money on forcing people into these programs, why not improve the programs for those who are there by choice.

But, of course, the politicians can't do that, because that would be seen as being soft on Sex Offenders, and we can't have that, can we. Take the freaking politics out of the equasion, and I bet you would see lower numbers of recidivism.

Another thing I would advocate is a pre-emptive education program to keep people from ending up in the system in the first place. Teach them in school (I know that's a novel concept these days) just what constitutes a sexual offense, and let them know what the consequences of such acts are. (Lifetime persecution via the Registry being the big one.) Instead of teaching them how to use condoms (open and unroll, how hard is that), teach them how to avoid becoming a sex offender and/or the victim of one. Kids are smart, once they know the facts, they will be their own best protectors.