Man Kills Former Neighbor With Ax After Accusing Him Of Sexual Abuse: 'I Killed My Pedophile'

8-30-17 Minnesota:

A man allegedly murdered his former neighbor on Friday by chopping him up with an ax-like tool known as a splitting maul. Mitchell Edward Hoogenakker, 24, has been arrested for the death of 67-year-old John Gallagher. The murder marks the first homicide in Hopkins, Minnesota since 2009.

The wife of the victim said her husband was dragged out of the house by Hoogenakker, according to a CBS affiliate. Gallagher had reportedly filed a harassment restraining order against his alleged murderer last month.

“The neighbor used a tool (an ax) to forcibly chop through the door, confronted our victim, dragged him out of the house and subsequently our victim died of sharp force injuries in the front yard,” said Hopkins Police Sgt. Mike Glassberg.

A witness, who was renting from Gallagher, said he he could hear the sounds of the "impact" of a weapon on a body, according to an ABC affiliate. Police said they found Gallagher dead, lying on the front yard "with numerous wounds to his back and head, including a large hole in his skull which revealed his brain."

Police said Hoogenakker made sexual abuse accusations against the victim in the past. However, nothing was ever prosecuted.

Jo Vela, Hoogenakker’s roommate, said that Hoogenakker confessed to him on Friday morning. ..Continued..

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Bill aims to bulk up sex offense penalties

3-8-17 Minnesota:

Three sexual assault survivors told Minnesota legislators that current criminal sentencing procedures endanger children.

They testified at a House public safety committee meeting Tuesday, March 7 in favor of a bill that would:

Eliminate some plea agreements that let sex offenders avoid prison.

Mandate minimum sentences for child pornography.

Require that some sex offenders remain under supervision for life, even after they get out of jail or prison.

April Kane's earliest memories are of being sexually assaulted by her father, she said. Without the bill, she said, crimes like that will continue to happen in Minnesota.

"The next time another child is abducted, the police can't find them because the predators are invisible," she said. "We have to put barriers between these criminals and the children and victims."

Under some plea deals, the defendant admits guilt and is issued probation instead of jail time.

Now, if the offender meets the probation terms, felony convictions could be reduced to misdemeanors and a record of the offense would not be available on the state's online database.

Rep. Matt Grossell, R-Clearbrook, said he authored the bill in response to "disturbing" reports of offenders who assaulted more victims after dodging lock-up.

"Nobody in this room today advocates child pornography, child exploitation, but something is definitely wrong with our statute, with our system where stays of adjudication for such crimes are being allowed," he said.

Along with changing sentencing procedures, Grossell's bill would reframe how the state monitors offenders following their sentences.

Offenders would be subject to lifetime probation, which would include intensified measures like electronic surveillance, unannounced searches, treatment, house arrest and full-time work requirements.

Elizabeth Sullivan, who directs the support group EmpowerSurvivors Minnesota, said she believes offenders have rights and need help.

But some, she said, will never be able to control their "taste" for children.

"That is who they prefer; they want a child," she said. "They're easy to manipulate, and it's easy to groom them."

The bill also would establish mandatory minimum sentences.

People convicted of possessing child pornography would be required to serve a minimum of six months in jail. Repeat offenses or porn possession by registered offenders would carry a minimum one-year sentence.

Maximum penalties related to child pornography also would increase.

A conviction of possessing child pornography could carry a sentence of up to seven years for the first offense, and 15 years for the second offense for those committed by registered offenders.

Distributing child pornography could land a convicted person up to 10 years in prison for a first offense, rather than the current seven, and 20 years for the second offense, rather than 15.

For Judy Rangel, who suffered sexual abuse as a child, the bill represents the first steps in revamping "horrific" state laws she says discourage victims from coming forward.

"Most cases are not brought to court; most people are loathe to talk about being molested," she said. "By our silence, perpetrators continue to molest people."

Since the changes would increase prison and public defender costs, it may be folded into a public safety finance bill in the coming weeks. ..Source.. by Maureen McMullen Forum News Service

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Orono approves sex offender restrictions

1-19-2017 Minnesota:

Level 3 sex offenders who move to Orono will have to keep their distance from areas where children congregate.

One of the first items of business Orono city councilors attended to in 2017 was to adopt residency restrictions for level 3 sex offenders.

The new regulations mean that those offenders may not live within 2,000 feet of any school, daycare center, park or playground within Orono. The measure received unanimous approval.

Councilor Aaron Printup advocated for the ordinance and city officials have been working on the issue for months. In November, the council held a public hearing to get input on the matter. One man spoke at that meeting, and he was in favor of the restrictions.

“This is something I’ve been thinking about for quite some time,” he said. “I commend you for being thoughtful enough to think about this.”

The new restrictions only apply to level 3 offenders, because they are the only sex offenders who have personal information that’s available to the public.

Predatory offenders who are released from prison or other confinement are assigned risk levels. Those given a level 1 are deemed to be at a lower risk of re-offending, those with a level 2 are considered to be at a moderate risk of re-offending, while those with a level 3 are determined to be at a higher risk of re-offending. There are also some offenders who have not been assigned a level, such as offenders who were released prior to the time when levels were assigned.

Local law enforcement is notified when predatory offenders move into their communities, but that information is only public with level 3 offenders. Previously, Orono Police Chief Correy Farniok told the council that his department conducts quarterly, and in some cases monthly, checks on offenders in the city. There are eight predatory offenders living in Orono who must register with the department, but all of them have been assigned a risk level of 1 or are not assigned.

There are exceptions to Orono’s residency restrictions. Those include offenders who are minors or who were minors when they committed the offense, cases where a school, playground, daycare center or park opened within 2,000 feet of an offender after the offender established a permanent or temporary residence in the area, and when the residence is also the primary residence of the offender’s parents, grandparents, siblings, spouse or adult children.

Shorewood

Shorewood officials are also considering enacting residency restrictions for level 3 offenders.

Councilors first discussed the issue at their Jan. 9 meeting, but decided to hold off on voting on an ordinance until South Lake Minnetonka Police Chief Mike Meehan could be present to answer questions about the issue. ..Source..

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South St. Paul set to dramatically restrict where sex offenders can live

9-22-16 Minnesota:

Shange McNeal was found guilty of criminal sexual assault in 2001. So when he moved into a South St. Paul neighborhood in June, locals took notice.

Eyebrows also raised when Anthony Bulmer moved to the inner-ring suburb. Bulmer was busted for criminal sexual conduct in 2011 after repeated contact with a 10-year-old girl.

But it was Christopher Blair's arrival that caused South St. Paul, population 20,000, to go on the offensive. Blair is a convicted sex offender whose past includes repeated attempts at accosting females with a weapon.

The City Council is in the process of deciding whether to implement one of the strictest residency restrictions for sex offenders anywhere in Minnesota.

The ordinance would prohibit an offender from taking up temporary or permanent residence anywhere within 1,500 feet of a school, park, playground, licensed daycare facility, place of worship, or sexually oriented business.

In other words, of the suburb's six-square-mile footprint, sex offenders would be allowed to reside in just four small pockets. Three of these areas are the grounds of the South St. Paul Municipal Airport, along the woodlands of the Mississippi River, and near Highway 52 in the far northwest corner.

The proposal is the brainchild of Police Chief Bill Messerich. He proffered the idea, in part, because the community felt powerless about convicted predators setting up residence there.

Messerich admits the city is walking a fine line between public safety and personal liberties.

"There's always a concern you might end up with a legal battle when you have this kind of new ordinance," he says. "But the city has done its due diligence, restricting the areas where these individuals could live in South St. Paul without being too restrictive."

The courts could very well disagree.

The California Supreme Court last year ruled unconstitutional a similar ordinance, in which offenders were barred from living within 2,000 feet of a park or school. By severely restricting their "ability to find housing," the statute "greatly increased the incidence of homelessness among [sex offenders], and… hindered their access to medical treatment, drug and alcohol dependency services, psychological counseling, and other rehabilitative services," the court wrote.

South St. Paul's initiative smacks of these same infringements, since the designated pockets where offenders could live are largely uninhabitable.

"There's one road near the airport where there's houses. And you're right, there's nothing along the river," he says. "But there's some homes in another of the pockets, although it's largely a commercial area. So the choices aren't zero." ..Source.. by Cory Zurowski

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Sex offender residency restrictions passed, but with family exception

12-2-15 Minnesota:

BIRCHWOOD — Sex offenders now can't live alone next to a city park. They can, however, move in with family.

At an emergency meeting Nov. 24, the Birchwood City Council adopted an ordinance banning sex offenders from living near a park or day care. But the ordinance includes multiple exemptions, including for offenders who reside with relatives.

News that a Level 3 sex offender planned to move across from city tennis courts on Cedar Street spurred two council meetings in less than a week. Many residents hoped the council would adopt an ordinance that would block Joseph Charles Zacher from moving in after his Nov. 30 release from prison. A few residents and the city attorney opposed such restrictions, calling them hastily developed, ineffective and/or a litigation risk.

The three council members present at the Nov. 24 meeting adopted an ordinance, but not one that might have impeded Zacher's move. The council passed restrictions that mirror the ones in place in a handful of other Minnesota communities.

All the other residency restriction ordinances exempt sex offenders who live with family. The Birchwood councilmen — Randy LaFoy, Bill Hullsiek and Mark Anderson — weren't willing to deviate from that norm. They worried that having an ordinance unlike the others would enhance the city's risk of being sued by someone wanting to challenge the constitutionality of residency restrictions. Mayor Mary Wingfield wasn't present at either meeting but sent a statement read by the city administrator at the Nov. 24 meeting strongly admonishing the prospective unique ordinance as the product of a “flawed and tortured” process that would “expose the city to great risk with only the illusion of protecting our children.”

Resident Megan Malvey asked the council to take the risk, noting that insurance would limit the city's legal cost liability. No parents will allow their children to use the tennis courts if Zacher lives nearby, she predicted.

Even if the council had adopted an ordinance without a family exemption, Zacher still might have moved into the neighborhood. The city attorney told the council on Nov. 22 that Zacher or the Department of Corrections could argue that Zacher was already legally a resident and therefore no new ordinance would apply to him. ..Continued.. by Kristine Goodrich

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Sex Offender Stigma 3: Sexual Development

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5-15-15 Minnesota:

DULUTH, Minn. - In our final report called Sex Offender Stigma, we focus on the victim, the long-term mental effects after a sex offense, and why some experts believe developing healthy sexual relationships could be one key part of preventing sex crimes from happening.

“Many of these cases go unreported. So they are very, very emotional cases and very difficult cases,” said Gary Bjorklund, who heads the criminal division of the St. Louis Count Attorney’s Office.

Becoming a victim of a sex crime can be a life-changing traumatic experience.

“I don't think we ever force a victim in these cases to trial when the victim just feels they can't do it,” Bjorklund said.

“One in four women in this country will be victimized during their lifetime as a sexual assault victim,” Bjorklund said.

He's discovered that even when an offender is convicted of a sexual offense, it does not change the mental outcome of the victim.

“They're more prone to alcoholism; drug abuse is very, very high among them, I think it's six times more apt to commit suicide. 32:21

Christos Petsoulis is the director of the Duluth Institute for Psychological and Sexual Health.

“We need to encourage people to be aware of where their sexual development is, and it's very difficult for people to look at their sexuality,” said Petsoulis.

He believes easy access to pornography can affect a person’s sexual development and their ability to make healthy decisions later in life.

“You don't have to have a mental health diagnoses to commit a sexual offense. They're our brothers, our sisters, our cousins, our fathers,” Petsoulis said.

Registered sex offender "John Smith," as we are calling him for this story, has gone through extensive treatment.

“As a society, sex is all out there. You can't get away from it,” Smith said.

Smith has kids, a wife and he believes Petsoulis is spot on.

“I mean, our children in grade schools are being confronted with pornography. And what does that do to them, and then as a society we are hesitant to talk about sex and sexuality,” Smith said.

But Petsoulis said we’re not at all hesitant to sit behind a screen and objectify ourselves online or by sexting.

“One out of 10 kids in high school takes a naked picture and sends it to the world,” Petsoulis said.

Behaviors which in turn, he says, increasingly replaces a natural part of sexual development known as intimacy.

“For the most part, human beings want to be close to one another, and the most intimate and close way they can be close to each other is sexual interaction,” Petsoulis said.

Petsoulis believes eliminating this intimacy sometimes develops into unhealthy, criminal behavior with life-changing consequences as a registered sex offender.

“My wife and children -- they'd be better off if I were dead. There are a lot of people who have committed sex offenses that feel that way,” Smith said.

“I live every day knowing that it's wrong and that it's caused a lot of pain.” ..Source.. by Dan Hanger, Anchor/Reporter

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Sex Offender Stigma 2: Does Treatment Work?

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5-14-15 Minnesota:

'You Can Heal. I Know That'

DULUTH, Minn. - Nobody can argue that a sex offense is a serious crime. But can an offender get treatment and eventually heal after serving time?

In Part 2 of Sex Offender Stigma, a registered sex offender gives his thoughts on that question, and so does a leading sex psychologist in Duluth, as FOX 21’s Dan Hanger reports.

People who commit sex offenses aren't very popular among fellow inmates and society, especially if the victims are children.

“It's worse than if you had robbed, beaten, stabbed other people. A sex offense, as far as it’s viewed by society, is worse,” explained registered sex offender “John Smith,” which is the name we chose for this story.

But Smith believes some sex offenders like him can get better.

“You can heal. I know that. I don't believe that, I know that,” Smith said.

Smith chose sex offender treatment at the Northeast Regional Corrections Center instead of simply counting down his sentence in jail.

“People can refuse to participate in the process. People can be in denial. And that's the reality of what we are dealing with,” Smith said.

Then, as part of probation, he tackled outpatient treatment for two years at the Duluth Institute for Psychological and Sexual Health.

“You have to unpack this stuff. You have to relive your offense. You have to get back to the feelings you were having before and what led up to that,” Smith said.

Christos Petsoulis is a licensed psychologist and director of the Duluth Institute.

“The program is intense because nobody wants to come in here voluntarily -- and that is very difficult in the beginning,” said Petsoulis.

“We talk about accountability, we talk about denial, we talk about understanding one's self,” Petsoulis said.

And while this treatment centers around the offender, Petsoulis believes the outside world needs to relax a bit.

“If we only look at it as, let's treat sex offenders and we just focus on that – let’s pay attention to where they live, where they work, how bad they are. As a society, we are missing the point.”

He says the point is to encourage people to be aware and open about their sexual development and examine their sexuality.

“So, healthy sexuality starts at the home, starts at the schools, starts in the community,” Petsoulis said.

“The more you talk about it, the more you think about it, the more you integrate it the more comfortable you become and the healthier decisions you are going to make,” Petsoulis said.

And that's why Smith is using this story as a platform for healing, education and a better, healthy society that’s so flooded with sex.

“We are creating an environment where people aren't comfortable to be able to have a conversation about this, and I think that's dangerous, and I think that contributes to the hiding and the secrecy. And those are all things that are very much tied into sexual offending,” Smith said. ..Source.. by Dan Hanger, Anchor/Reporter

Thursday on FOX 21 News at 9 p.m., we examine how pornography, technology and lack of human touch may be worsening the development of healthy sexuality and increasing the likelihood of committing a sexual offense.

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Sex Offender Stigma: Should One Label Fit All?

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5-13-15 Minnesota:

Northland Registered Sex Offender Speaks Out

DULUTH, Minn. - There are registered sex offenders living in the Northland, have served time and are now labeled for life – and rightfully so, a majority of society might say.

But should all levels of sex crimes be treated equally?

For example: raping a child versus exposing one's self in public?

How about an 18-year-old's sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl?

A Northland registered sex offender does not think so, and neither does a longtime Duluth sex psychologist.

FOX 21’s Dan Hanger brings you an eye-opening, three-part special report: Sex Offender Stigma.

They pick on the most vulnerable people in society -- and that occurs both the adult victims and child victims,” said Gary Bjorklund, the head of the criminal division for the St. Louis County Attorney’s Office.

And when it comes to sex offenders, they don’t discriminate.

“They're very outgoing. They're very manipulative. They're good sales type people,” Bjorklund explained.

Right now, more than 800,000 registered sex offenders live across America – in all 50 states, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Kids. Minnesota has more than 17,000 registered, while Wisconsin has more than 23,000.

“It goes from the … non-consensual touching outside the clothing to full violent rapes with weapons and multiple people involved,” said Bjorklund, who has more than 30 years of experience in the court room.

“Our main goal is to hold offenders accountable, make sure that justice is done in every case,” Bjorklund said.

And like many convicted criminals, a sentence is served and an inmate is released with a goal of re-entering society a better person. “There are a lot of other sex offenders living in the community that have done their time and they are low risk to reoffend,” Bjorklund said.

"I think one of the biggest questions we get is why here, why in my backyard or why in my neighborhood,” explained Matt Markon, deputy chief at the Superior Police Department.

Markon handles the community notifications you see on the news for Level III sex offenders – the most likely to reoffend.

“I think the big thing is people shouldn't be afraid of who is living near them, but they should be informed,” Markon said.

Markon works closely with state authorities to perform bi-annual face to face check-ins with officers.

He says, overall, there have not been huge issues.

"It's not the stranger danger that makes the very big headlines. It's someone who they know -- usually a family member or a close friend or a neighbor,” Markon said.

“I committed a sex offense that brought a lot of pain to my family and the person I offended against,” a registered sex offender, who we are choosing to name as “John Smith” in this story.

“I don't want people to feel bad for me. I don't want people to feel bad for other sex offenders,” Smith said.

But Smith says he does want to share a perspective from someone who has served time, gotten intense treatment, but still can’t seem to start his life over because of what he believes is society’s one-size fits all label for sex offenders.

“I'm a sex offender and I know there's people who've murdered people who get out into society and who are then able to go on with their lives,” Smith explained.

“You ended somebody else's life, but I as someone who has committed a sex offense -- I'm worse than that,” Smith continued.

Wednesday night on FOX 21 News at 9, Smith will talk treatment, the wide spectrum of sex offenses and what he believes are society’s barriers from becoming a productive member of society again.

You’ll hear from one of the region’s leaders in treating sexual offenders. ..Source.. by Dan Hanger, Anchor/Reporter

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Preview: Sex Offender Stigma

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5-12-15 Minnesota:

Should All Sex Crimes Be Treated Equally?

FOX 21’s Dan Hanger is working on an eye-opening special series called “Sex Offender Stigma.”

Starting Tuesday night at nine on FOX 21 News, you’ll meet a Northland registered sex offender who has served his time and done extensive treatment but can’t seem to start his life over because of what he believes is society’s one-size fits all label for sex offenders.

“What I'd like is for people to understand that we have a situation where people have committed sex offenses who are trying to do the best they can to be productive back in society. And as a society, we can do a better job at helping them,” said man who is a registered sex offender in the Northland, and who chose not to be identified out of respect for his family.

It’s a special report: Sex Offender Stigma – May 12 through the 14th on FOX 21 News at 9 p.m. ..Source.. by FOX21

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County moving forward with predatory offender ordinance

3-25-15 Minnesota:

The Chisago County Board of Commissioners doesn’t have a concrete plan yet about how it’s going to address the residency of predatory offenders in the county, but commissioners agreed March 18 that the state should be involved in the process.

After about 45 minutes of discussion, the board decided to have county staff begin working on a draft ordinance that would restrict where predatory offenders can live in Chisago County.

As part of that motion, which was approved unanimously, Commissioner George McMahon said the board should work with Sen. Leroy Stumpf, DFL, District 1. McMahon said Stumpf and his staff are drafting legislation this session that deals with sex offenders.

Before the board voted on that motion, County Attorney Janet Reiter spoke to the board about her recent research.

Reiter said the interest in having a countywide ordinance stemmed from the release of Thomas Stanton, a Level 3 predatory offender who raped and severely beat a woman in the Stacy area more than two decades ago. He served about 20 years in prison for the crime.

Stanton lived at a residence off Lang Avenue and Lincoln Road for less than a week last month before he violated terms of his release — having access to an Internet-capable device and failure to inform his agent of his activities. He was sentenced to a year in the Rush City Prison for those violations.

Another man living at the residence with Stanton, Leonard Oliver, a Level 2 predatory offender, vandalized a neighbor’s sign that read, “Sex offenders live here,” with an arrow pointing to the residence. He was also arrested.

Even though those two men are back in custody, residents in the community want action taken, and they came before the board at its March 4 meeting to express their concerns.

Reiter researched proximity laws between the March 4 and March 18 board meetings. She noted that those types of laws allow local units of government to prohibit people with predatory offenses on their records from living within certain distances of places like schools, parks and licensed day care facilities.

She added that empirical data shows the laws aren’t particularly effective.

She said a 2005 ruling in an Iowa case supports the constitutionally of proximity laws.

However, she said those laws have to be narrowly tailored.

Reiter noted the California Supreme Court at the beginning this month struck down a San Diego County ordinance that limited where sex offenders could live in that county. She described that law as a “blanket ordinance.”

“It limited their residency as such that it inhibited their ability to find housing, find drug or alcohol treatment or other services that might help them maintain their stability,” she said.
Chisago County Sheriff Rick Duncan told the board he understands nobody wants a convicted sex offender living near them, but they have to live somewhere after they’ve served their time.

“Nobody wants them in their community,” he said. “However, that’s the society we live in.

Felons get released from prison all the time, and we don’t even have to notify the community that these people are living here.”

But Duncan added that someone should look into making a law that would prohibit a predatory offender from living in the county in which they offended.

“Why are we placing Level 3 sex offenders who have committed in a county back in that same county?” he asked. “That stirs the population even more because they went through the process of what this person did. It’s not fair for the violator — they don’t have a fighting chance to live in the community, even if they wanted to change. And it’s not fair to the victim because they have to relive the whole process over again.”

Commissioner Ben Montzka said even if proximity laws aren’t very effective, the county should do something.

“We have a duty to try and protect, but I think we should do it wisely,” he said. “If we do nothing, we’re encouraging offenders to live in our unincorporated areas.”

Commissioner Mike Robinson asked Reiter what would happen if the board enacted an overly broad ordinance that limited the residency of predatory offenders in the county.

She said that the ordinance could eventually be struck down, and the county might have to foot the bill for court costs associated with defending the ordinance.

She also noted there could also be the possibility of someone representing an offender suing the county for punitive damages.

Even with that explanation from Reiter, Robinson said he thought the county should have a strong ordinance.

“I think we should make a real tough ordinance because it will probably take about two years for the state to do anything about it,” he said. “For those two years, maybe none of our people will get attacked.” ..Source.. by Derrick Knutson

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Le Center restricts residency for dangerous offenders, questions state decision to house rapist in town

2-17-15 Minnesota:

Spurred by a federal lawsuit that some fear could lead to the mass release of the state’s most dangerous sex offenders, the Le Center City Council approved restrictions limiting where in town offenders can live.

“This ordinance, I believe, serves the purpose of protecting the public,” City Attorney Jason Moran said during the council’s Feb. 10 meeting.

The ordinance, which keeps Level 3 predatory offenders from living within 2,000 feet of parks, schools, child care facilities and other places where children congregate, essentially keeps them from moving into town. Only a small segment of the city near the industrial park isn’t covered by the restrictions.

But while the council unanimously approved the proposal, two Minnesota Department of Corrections employees urged the council not to OK the ordinance. In a letter to the council, Mark Bliven, the department’s risk assessment/community notification director, said that while residency restrictions seem like a good idea, they “actually create a false sense of security and more likely diminish public safety in a number of ways.”

While predatory offenders labeled as Level 3 offenders are deemed the most dangerous, statistically they are the lowest risk to the public.

Blevins also noted that residency restrictions destabilize and limit housing options for offenders which makes compliance with other release requirements less likely.

“Almost all sex offenses in Minnesota are committed by those not designated as Level 3 and the vast majority of offenses are committed by those not even previously identified as sex offenders,” he wrote.

Another Department of Corrections employee, Dayna Burmeister Thelemann, expressed her concerns during the meeting, noting that Iowa’s residency restrictions have caused a host of problems in that state.

“There, they go underground and you don’t know where they’re living,” she said of offenders. “You can’t track them and you can’t supervise them.”

A March 15, 2006, New York Times article supports Thelemann’s assertions, reporting that “nearly three times as many registered sex offenders considered missing since before the law took effect in September.”

A June 2008 report by the Colorado Sex Offender Management Board which recommended against residency restrictions, saying they are “counterproductive” to community safety, found that research “indicate(s) that homelessness, absconding from supervision, and not registering for tracking purposes all appeared to be significant byproducts of residence restrictions. Additional research has revealed that residence restrictions have negatively impacted the risk for recidivism with sex offenders due to increased isolation, financial hardship, decreased stability and lack of support.”

Moran, the city attorney, challenged Thelemann, who pointed to a 2007 Department of Corrections study which found there’s no evidence restrictions such as those Le Center approved are effective. He noted that no study includes clients in the Minnesota Sex Offender Program, about 700 who are plaintiffs in a lawsuit alleging that the program is unconstitutional.

“Rather than lowering sexual recidivism,” the study said, “housing restrictions may work against this goal by fostering conditions that exacerbate sex offenders’ reintegration into society.”

The ordinance follows the December release of Robert Jeno, a Faribault man convicted in 1984 of first-degree criminal sexual conduct. After his sentence was complete, Jeno was civilly committed and underwent treatment through the Minnesota Sex Offender Program. A state Appeals Court panel in November ordered Jeno’s release from MSOP in St. Peter.

Other concerns

Even as council members discussed the proposed ordinance, several expressed concerns about how and why Jeno is housed in Le Center. As an MSOP client, Jeno’s placement was the state Department of Human Services’ responsibility.

The December community notification meeting to discuss Jeno’s release, which followed the appellate court order, was a mere formality, said Mayor Josh Fredrickson. He lamented that “our opinions didn’t matter” and admitted to being confused over Jeno’s placement.

“I hate to say it, but it would be a little different if he had ties here,” he said, later adding that the ordinance was an effort to ensure Le Center “doesn’t become a dumping ground” for former MSOP clients. The council’s decision, he hopes, will make the state stand up and take notice.

“At a bare minimum all this does is put this on the radar of the state of Minnesota,” he said. “Cities are not going to put up with this.”

Fredrickson scoffed at the idea that Level 3 sex offenders are the least likely to reoffend and restated the council’s need to act. “Recidivism doesn’t happen: That’s great when you’re sitting in St. Paul, but that doesn’t do nothing when you’re sitting in Le Center,” he said. “We need to at least make the effort.”

The ordinance will take effect after it’s published in the newspaper. ..Source.. by Suzy Rook

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Mother of low-IQ sex offender worries about loss of therapy program

11-24-2014 Minnesota:

With an IQ of 60, Claire Potter's 47-year-old son Clark verbalizes at the developmental level of a 13-year-old. But socially, he's even younger -- perhaps 8 years old, according to his mother.

He's also a sex offender. Although never charged with a crime, Clark Potter forced himself on his girlfriend at a group home for the mentally disabled some 20 years ago, his mother said. He later sexually assaulted a staff member's young child.

As a result, he spent a year in a state psychiatric facility, followed by 20 years in group therapy. For three hours a day, up to five days per week, he has met with therapists and other low-IQ sex offenders at ABC Mental Health Therapy on Payne Avenue in St. Paul.

That door is now closed. After losing a Ramsey County contract, the nonprofit officially called it quits Friday, capping nine years of running the "Onward" group therapy program in St. Paul. Metropolitan Community Mental Health Center ran Onward from 1970 to 2005 before it went out of business.

With painstaking effort and medication, Clark Potter has recognized his mistakes and avoided making new ones, his mother said through tears. He recently began job training after nearly two decades of preparation.

"There is nothing comparable to this program," said Claire Potter, a retired airline customer fraud investigator.

"It's such a niche. I'm terrified of having my son's support system yanked out from under him."

Ramsey County officials felt otherwise. Earlier this year, they informed ABC Mental Health director Dane Jorento that they would no longer contract with the nonprofit and another day-treatment therapy program, Pathways Counseling Center on University Avenue.

While the county did not fund ABC Mental Health directly, losing the contract eliminates the nonprofit's ability to qualify for reimbursement through Minnesota's Medicaid medical assistance program, known as MA.

Most clients have no income, and without the reimbursement, ABC Mental Health can't afford to pay its staff, Jorento said.

"All the staff, I think, already have job offers, as they are well-trained, awesome staff, and there is growing demand for therapist and therapy services," he said. "I really hope Ramsey County succeeds but unfortunately can't see that happening with going back to failed practices."

Jorento and several fellow therapists from Metropolitan Community Mental Health opened the nonprofit together and operated it for six years at Fairview and University avenues before relocating to Payne Avenue in 2011.

They believed their strategy toward treating low-IQ offenders was working, keeping the offenders and society safe.

Organized something akin to a support group, the approach helped clients suffering from brain injuries, autism and mental disabilities to acknowledge their crimes and then think through ways they could control their negative impulses.

The effort took years, and in some cases decades.

Jorento said his therapists worked with peeping Toms, clients who had engaged in public masturbation and some who had committed more serious offenses, such as sex assaults. Many, but not all, were referred through a county correctional system and had been found mentally incompetent to stand trial.

Ramsey County officials said they review all county contracts on a five-year basis and determined that the day-treatment programs no longer were meeting modern standards within their field.

They said they want each offender to have an individualized case plan, based on the latest research, with the goal of getting them back into work sites.

Jorento is skeptical.

"Most of our clients can't keep a job because they have offended at the job sites," he said.

"They need ongoing structure, oftentimes the first stable, safe structure they have ever experienced in their lives, to create stable and durable behavioral changes, including brain neurology changes.

"One-on-one therapy, one hour a week doesn't work with these clients and hasn't worked in the past," he said.

It's unclear what Ramsey County's new strategy will be for low-IQ offenders. Claire Potter said that in addition to the expense posed by residential programs, developmentally delayed clients like her son would be easy targets for more sophisticated predators.

"He falls between the cracks for a number of reasons," she said. "The programs that are available are for people who are much higher functioning, in which case he's the vulnerable person. It's like putting the lambs in with the wolves."

Based on discussions with various state Department of Human Services staff, Jorento believes there are 150 low-IQ sex offenders housed at the Minnesota Sex Offender Program, which is located at state psychiatric facilities in Moose Lake and St. Peter.

And someday, they may go free. The state of Minnesota is under increasing legal pressure to release patients who have been held for years after the end of their criminal sentences, especially if they are deemed low-risk.

If that happens, counties appear ill-equipped to direct them to appropriate services, Jorento said. Officials with the Department of Human Services confirmed last week that they had set up a contract with ABC Mental Health to provide therapy to low-IQ offenders if more are released.

Claire Potter still cries when she thinks of her son's sexual assaults two decades ago, and she said she spent years in therapy herself to relearn how to love him.

"He's in the right place," she said. "It has taken 20 years of therapy and medication to get him, in very tiny increments, to understand at all that what he has done is wrong."

On Friday, Jorento penned an open thank-you letter to county officials and state contacts within the Minnesota Department of Corrections.

"There will never be another nonprofit like ABC, as there are very few skilled and experienced people crazy enough to do so much for so little for the unwanted," Jorento wrote. "This fight, to get the best therapy services to vulnerable clients, is over."

Counseling sex offenders rarely results in awards and recognition, but Jorento has his share of fans.

"I thought he ran a very respected organization in the field," said Christopher Onken, who owns about 20 group homes in the south metro and has worked with ABC since it opened. "We should be expanding resources for this under served population, not reducing them." ..Source.. by Frederick Melo

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New 'Ban the Box' law tripping up Minnesota employers

11-17-2014 Minnesota:

“Ban the box” sounded like a simple concept. Companies can no longer ask about a job seeker’s criminal history on initial employment applications.

But some of the state’s marquee employers fumbled the new law, which took effect Jan. 1.

The Minnesota Department of Human Rights has investigated complaints involving the job applications of more than 50 companies and in the majority of cases found applications violating the ban-the-box law, according to data obtained by the Star Tribune. So far about 40 companies “responded favorably” to notification letters the department mailed out, with most fixing applications. The department, charged with enforcing the new law, is awaiting responses from about 16 employers.

Many of the problem job applications still asked if the person had ever pleaded guilty to or been convicted of a crime, asked other questions about misdemeanor convictions, or asked about alcohol- or drug-related driving offenses.

In some cases, as with Target and 3M, the problem applications may have been old ones that somehow surfaced, Human Rights Commissioner Kevin Lindsey said in an interview.

The one company fined so far was Elgin Milk Service Inc., a trucking company in the southern Minnesota town of Elgin. It was fined $500 for not complying in a timely manner. The company paid up. Account manager Lynette Bruske said the company just didn’t know about the law change. The fine surprised her. ..Continued.. by JENNIFER BJORHUS

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No Housing Restriction For Moorhead Sex Offenders

10-2-2014 Minnesota:

Some Moorhead residents are upset with city leaders' decision to not limit where sex offenders can live.

Right now, sex offenders of all levels can live anywhere in the city.

Ashley Christianson is one of many parents who think Moorhead should place limits on where sex offenders can live.

"I just as a parent think it's ridiculous to for any sex offender to live anywhere in Moorhead. I would be devastated if one lived near us," said Christianson.

In the city councils latest informal meeting, the idea of restricting where sex offenders may live was brought up but the only one to support the idea was councilwoman Brenda Elmer.

The Moorhead Police Chief and other leaders opposed the idea due to a number of factors including having a higher homeless population and being able to keep tabs on offenders.

"If you talk to residents who do have one of the very high level registered offenders in their neighborhood they can tell you how things may have changed," said Elmer.

A lot of people believe that the proposed idea should have gone through while there are those that side with the majority of leaders.

"I think it's important to keep those people away from children and even students on campus," said Nikkie Nouwen of Moorhead.

"If it's not gonna help, probably not since they haven't had a repeat offender in ten years it seems like it wouldn't make much of a difference," said Alli Fox of Moorhead.

"I'm all about protecting kids and I think they should be limited to staying in a certain area and away from schools and homes and families," said Amanda Boelz of Moorhead.

If residents are concerned about the decision, Elmer says;

"If our public has any interest in pursuing this concept they really should be contacting their elected officials." ..Source.. by Aries Serrano

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Minnesota’s predatory offender registry a tool, not protection

8-28-2014 Minnesota:

While they’re helpful tools, Minnesota’s predatory offender registry and notification system can lead to a false sense of protection and safety.

“It’s designed only to let law enforcement know where they’re living in the community,” said Donna Dunn, executive director of the Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault.

The predatory offender registration law, created in 1991, includes a public listing of where higher risk offenders who’ve been convicted of certain predatory and sex offenses reside and notification meetings when they move into a community. Information about those with lower risk levels is accessible only to law enforcement — unless those offenders go missing or fail to register as required.

A tool

Le Sueur County Investigator Bruce Collins says the state’s predatory offender registry is useful, but only in certain circumstances.

“The predatory offender database has an enormous amount of information,” said Collins. “For example, it is set up especially for investigating sex crimes.”

The database, he said, can be valuable if a registered offender reoffends.

Collins said the Sheriff’s Department might refer to the database while investigating a rape or sex crime committed by a stranger or someone unknown to the victim, adding that they can enter the suspect’s physical description into the database and see if it matches any of the area’s predatory offenders.

Eric Knutson, the special agent in charge of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension’s predatory crime section said law enforcement agencies refer to the registry while investigating certain crimes to see if there predatory offenders live in the area, but couldn’t say what percentage of crimes are committed by past offenders.

Only a small percentage of sexual assaults are committed by strangers, Collins said.

According to the Rape Abuse & Incest National Network, approximately 73 percent of sexual assaults are committed by someone known to the victim.

Paperwork

Studies show a large percentage of offenders, even non-compliant ones, don’t typically violate mandated restrictions, which makes overseeing them, for the most part, a mundane chore.

But when offenders do go missing, local law enforcement agencies must try to track them down. ..Continued.. by JESSICA BIES

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PAYNESVILLE 5: Investigators probe possible Wetterling link

See Also: New London Blogger Suggests Link Between Wetterling Abduction, Paynesville Incidents

5-14-2014 Minnesota:

PAYNESVILLE, Minn. (KMSP) - Jacob Wetterling disappeared nearly 25 years ago, but the hope for answers is alive today. In fact, a blogger's latest theory is now being investigated by Stearns County detectives.

Investigators confirmed that they're taking another look at a series of attempted and actual child molestations that occurred in the Paynesville, Minn., area in the two years leading up to the Wetterling abduction. In fact, they've already re-interviewed some of the victims and are working with the blogger who brought the information to light.

A recent post by Joy Baker takes readers back nearly 28 years to a community on edge after 5 teen boys were attacked between the summer of 1986 and spring of 1987. No one was ever arrested.

Yet, after months of research and interviews with some of the victims, Baker believes the attacks were not random and that the culprit could be connected to the abduction of 11-year-old Wetterling in St. Joseph, Minn. -- a town just 40 minutes away.

Some of Baker's findings include that the suspect knew who the boys were and assaulted them at night near their homes, and she said the man usually wore a dark, puffy jacket and face mask.

Jacob Wetterling, his brother and a friend were cycling home at night when a man came out of a driveway and ordered the boys to throw their bikes into a ditch and lie down on the ground. Police believe that suspect wore some sort of mask and targeted boys -- but in the Wetterling case, the suspect pulled out a handgun before threatening to kill the group Jacob Wetterling was traveling with.

As Baker lays out similar characteristics and modus operands of the suspects in all the cases, she hopes someone will come forward with new information after reading her stories and possibly help solve the crimes.

Barker declined a request for an interview for this story. ..Source.. by Jonathan Choe

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Forum discusses sexual exploitation, sex trafficking in Bemidji area

2-21-2014 Minnesota:

BEMIDJI -- A room dominated by women faced a panel of women addressing a topic that primarily affects the female population -- sex trafficking in Bemidji.
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Representatives from the Minnesota Department of Health, Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault and the Support Within Reach and Moving Upstream groups in Bemidji met Thursday at the Northwest Minnesota Foundation to collaborate on ways to address the complex issue.

Patty Wetterling, program director for the Sexual Violence Prevention Program with the Minnesota Department of Health, began discussion of the touchy topic.

“After Jacob’s kidnapping I really realized quickly that we were tapping into this river of sexual victimization,” Wetterling said.

Patty’s son, Jacob Wetterling, 11, was abducted on Oct. 22, 1989 in St. Joseph, Minn. Since that time, Wetterling has looked into what may have happened to her son. One possibility is prostitution.

“I didn’t even want to think about that,” Wetterling said. “When you’re child is missing...if your child, you know is being trafficked, you don’t know where they are. You don’t know what’s happening and your mind can go crazy with all of that.”

At the time of Jacob’s disappearance, the FBI’s bank robbery division was in charge of the investigation because there was no training on abduction, Wetterling said. In 2003, the FBI created the Innocence Lost program to help end child prostitution. The program has helped rescue 2,700 children and incarcerate more than 1,300 pimps. There are 39 million survivors of childhood sexual abuse in the United States, officials said.

‘Happens everywhere’ BSU student Monica Adebayo spoke out about her experience with sexual abuse. Adebayo, 36, first entered into prostitution when she was 12-years-old, which is the average age when children enter into prostitution in Minnesota, according Moving Upstream.

“Sex trafficking happens everywhere,” Adebayo said.

Adebayo has been in the Bemidji area for 11 years and said that sometimes the community is not very welcoming to outsiders. ..Continued.. by Crystal Dey

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At Target, criminal history check box ends for job applicants

10-25-2013 Minnesota:

Minnesota-based Target Corp. says it's eliminating, nationally, the box on forms that asks if job applicants have criminal histories.

A new Minnesota law requires private employers in the state to take the criminal history box off applications by the end of the year. Target Vice President Jim Rowader says the company is voluntarily expanding that approach for all U.S. applicants, while at the same time trying to make sure that only the most serious crimes show up on the background reports that hiring managers see.

Rowader says Target is planning to work with a Minneapolis-based group Council on Crime and Justice to increase the company's hiring of ex-offenders.

"We are going to establish a more formal relationship," he said. "We're goong be donating $100,000 to them as a beginning of our relationship."

Rowader made the comments to a north Minneapolis audience of hundreds as part of a panel to address unemployment among ex-offenders that was organized by the advocacy group Take Action Minnesota.

For two years, the group has been urging Target to hire more ex-offenders. ..Source.. by Rupa Shenoy, Minnesota Public Radio

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Sex offender numbers in North Minneapolis puzzle, rile residents

6-28-2013 Minnesota:

North Minneapolis residents angry about the number of convicted sex offender being relocated to their neighborhoods called on local and state officials Tuesday night to find ways to stop the practice.

"For some reason, this community has been saddled with a concentration of Level 3 sex offenders at a rate over 10 times the county ratio," Jordan Area Community Council board member Dave Haddy told elected and law enforcement officials gathered at the Hennepin County North Regional Library.

Using data from the Minnesota Department of Corrections website and the Census, and comparing his findings across city Zip codes, the north Minneapolis resident said it's happening "to a section of the city that is the poorest, has the most single parent families and has the greatest percentage of children under 18."

Haddy said in some neighborhoods, there are five or six Level 3 offenders on a single block. A Minneapolis police official at the meeting said that out of 139 Level 3 sex offenders throughout the city, 55 are located in several north side neighborhoods. Haddy asked why other counties and cities don't have any sex offenders.

"I demand answers. We demand answers," Haddy said. "Enough is enough. We demand action."

One answer came from Mark Bliven, who supervises the community notification unit in the Minnesota Department of Corrections: 80 percent of sex offenders now living in Hennepin County were living in the county before they went to prison. Offenders relocate in areas where they have access to family, friends and housing -- all factors that Bliven says reduce the likelihood they'll re-offend.

"That's our biggest goal," he said of state and county departments of corrections. "The primary goal is to prevent recidivism." ..continued.. by Brandt Williams

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Park fee bill stumbles over sex offender amendment

3-15-2013 Minnesota:

A bill allowing Minneapolis to charge developers a fee for parks stalled Wednesday in the Senate after a Republican senator tried to link it with sex offenders.

An amendment proposed by Sen. Dan Hall, R-Burnsville, would have prevented the city from charging developers a fee for parks built within 1,500 feet of a registered sex offender. Republicans successfully added that same amendment to the House version of the bill two weeks ago.

About 70 communities in the area already impose the fees. The sex offender restriction would only apply in Minneapolis, however.

Sen. Scott Dibble, the sponsor of the bill, moved to table the legislation after Hall proposed the amendment.

"We need to move on with the business of the day," said Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis. "We can come back to this amendment at another time. I will speak against it. I think it's ridiculous and accomplishes nothing."

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board attorney, Brian Rice, told the Southwest Journal that the the provision was a "deal killer." Fifteen-hundred feet is about five to seven blocks, which could effectively prevent building new parks with developer fees in many parts of North Minneapolis.

Taxpayer dollars, incidentally, could still be used to build parks near sex offenders under the language of the amendment.

"We don't want to entice level 3 sex offenders with our children," Hall said. He later added that, "You can hear, you can be distracted by the kids playing. I can hear kids playing over a mile from my house. This is less than half of that. So members I would like you to consider the children of the City of Minneapolis, especially, and St. Paul."

Rep. Frank Hornstein, DFL-Minneapolis, said in an interview last month that "they’re hoping that that can be used in a political campaign. And it’s gutter politics. It’s the worst of politics." ..Source.. by Eric Roper

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