1-24-2011 New York:
Almost a third of New York's dangerous sex offenders released into a community-based program have been accused of a new sexual offense.
Some committed new sex-related crimes, including one now accused of rape. Others violated terms of their release: Officials allege that two called telephone sex lines, three watched pornography and one created a business card advertising himself for sexual services.
That recidivism rate shows the difficulty of finding an effective solution to dealing with the most serious sexual offenders after they have served prison sentences.
The parole-supervised and community-based program known as SIST, for Strict and Intensive Supervision and Treatment, was created in 2007 as part of the state's civil commitment initiative.
New York is the only state with a two-pronged program in which a sex offender eligible for civil commitment — a criminal determined to have a mental defect making him more likely to reoffend — can either be sent to a secure psychiatric facility or community-based treatment. Nineteen other states have civil commitment programs for dangerous sex offenders.
State records show 57 percent — 54 of 94 offenders released to parole supervision — breached their release terms.
A quarter of them did so in their first month of freedom.
Fifty offenders are still free but under supervision. Many are on the state's sex-offender registry. The rest of the 94 who were once in SIST are either jailed or have been placed in a state psychiatric facility.
State officials say the significant number of violations isn't a sign that the decision to release the offenders — a choice ultimately made by a judge — was a dangerous misstep. Instead, they say, the high rate of violations is an indication of the program's tight oversight.
Offenders are placed on GPS monitoring and regularly subjected to polygraphs. Some with drinking problems wear bracelets that measure their sweat for signs of alcohol, said Mary Osborne, assistant deputy director of the Division of Parole's sex-offender management unit.
According to state data, 94 offenders were ordered into SIST from 2007 through Nov. 30, 2010. Of those, eight are now charged with new sex crimes and 21 were accused of noncriminal but sex-related violations of their release terms.
Parole officers assigned to SIST offenders have smaller caseloads, so they can provide more intense oversight, Parole Division spokesman John Caher said.
SIST's annual supervision costs are $10,000 to $12,000 per offender. That's about twice the standard parole price tag. For a sex offender in a secure facility, treatment costs are about $175,000. ..Source.. Gary Craig
January 24, 2011
Sex offender program encounters recidivism problem
June 10, 2010
Waukesha man petitions for release from sexual predator restrictions
6-10-2010 Wisconsin:
Jun. 8--WAUKESHA -- Dennis C. Marth, who in September 2007 was released to live in Waukesha with strict supervision under the state's sexual predator law, has asked a judge to free him from the law's restrictions.
A trial on Marth's petition is scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday before Waukesha County Circuit Judge William Domina.
Marth, 49, was imprisoned for sexual assaults of boys, 4 and 5, nearly 25 years ago. As he approached his mandatory prison release date, prosecutors sought his commitment to secure inpatient treatment on the grounds that he was a sexually violent person, and a jury agreed in 2001.
Waukesha County Judge Kathryn Foster eventually allowed Marth to be released with supervision under the civil commitment order, and he has been living on Buena Vista Ave. near the courthouse since September 2007.
The supervision plan included treatment services, electronic monitoring, satellite tracking, mandatory escorts outside his Buena Vista Ave. residence for the first year, face to face visits from a corrections agent, and a list of four dozen rules he had to follow.
His release, the first in Waukesha County under the sexual predator law and one of 18 at the time statewide, prompted a public outcry and drew about 75 people to an informational meeting on his pending release. It also was a factor in prompting Waukesha's adoption soon after of residency restrictions on sexual offenders.
State probation and parole agent Craig Harling said that Marth -- who married in the past year and whose wife lives with him -- is employed as a janitor. While escorts for trips outside his home stopped after the first year, he is still subject to electronic monitoring and GPS tracking, Harling said.
Assistant District Attorney Susan Opper said both types of surveillance would end if Marth succeeds in getting released from the commitment order. However, Kimberly Knapp, supervised release program manager for the state Department of Health Services, said the decision on whether GPS can be applicable to him will be decided by the Department of Corrections.
Marth is a life registrant on the state's sex offender registry and would be subject to its reporting requirements, state officials said.
Under the sexual predator law, Marth petitioned for release from his commitment order using a standard form that says he no longer has a mental disorder and he is "no longer 'more likely than not' to recommit an act of sexual violence."
Opper said, "We are opposed to the petition."
A member of the evaluation team at Sand Ridge Treatment Center for sexual predators is scheduled to testify Friday.
Knapp said that since 1995, 319 people have been committed to inpatient treatment as violent sexual predators. Of those, Marth and 80 others have been placed into communities on supervised release -- including 20 currently.
So far, Knapp said, 22 of the 81 people on supervised release have been granted discharges from their commitment orders. Another 48 have been discharged directly from Sand Ridge into communities, and Knapp said state law requires that each of those be tracked by global positioning satellite.
Since 1995, 34 predators have had their supervised release privileges revoked because of violations, Knapp said. ..Source.. Laurel Walker
