VT - Sex offender registry under fire again

Original Article

07/18/2014

By Jennifer Reading

MONTPELIER - It's another black mark for the Vermont Sex Offender Registry.

"There are errors. And they should not have been there," said Doug Hoffer, D-Vt. Auditor.

Hoffer says the system needs work. A performance audit by his office found critical errors in 253 offender records. That's 11 percent of the total registry.

"The Legislature has said very clearly that they wanted information to be available to the general public, as is the case in other states," Hoffer said. "And we all have a right for the information to be accurate. Not only for the people in the community, but for the offenders."

The registry is a tool for law enforcement and the public to keep track of sexual predators living in the community. That's something Chelsea Merrill, 21, couldn't do for a while. Her abuser, _____, was convicted of lewd and lascivious conduct. He targeted her for five years while she was a child. Yet his photo wasn't on the public registry until recently. And she worried he'd find more victims.

"That he will offend again," she said. "That he will get close to another child and feel comfortable with them. And this will happen again."
- So are you saying that if his/her photo is online then they won't re-offend?  The problem is, most do not re-offend in the first place!

An audit conducted in 2010 found the system was rife with errors. Hoffer says four years later, the Legislature tasked his office with a follow-up examination.

His team uncovered:

• 11 registration errors where offenders were either incorrectly added, omitted or still online after their deaths.
• 179 errors related to how long an offender should stay on the registry.
• 71 mistakes regarding which offenders' information should be posted online.

Hoffer says these mistakes undermine the credibility of the registry. It's managed by two people within the Department of Public Safety's Vermont Crime Information Center or VCIC. But the auditor says state courts and corrections also play a role.

"They have not worked together as well as they could," Hoffer said.

"The program is still a work in progress," said Jeffrey Wallin who heads the VCIC.

Wallin says since the audit's conclusion in mid-May, almost all the mistakes have been fixed.

Many of them were a result of human error from manual data entry, a problem the center has been working to streamline. Last February, VCIC unveiled new software called OffenderWatch to help automate data entry. Despite a few technology glitches, Wallin says it's improved the accuracy of the registry.
- It doesn't matter how expensive or nice the program is, as long as you have humans entering data, then there is always potential for human errors.

"Right now the public can be fairly confident in the registry," Wallin said. "We are always looking to improve. Provide better information, better service and better response to the community, but also to the individuals listed."

Moving forward Hoffer has recommended the courts, corrections and VCIC reconvene a working group to hash out their communication breakdown. It's a suggestion the auditor's office also made after the 2010 audit.

"And they did. And then they kind of let it go," Hoffer said. "So they certainly need more coordination between them."

And victims like Merrill say fixing these mistakes should remain a top priority.

"If it was one of their kids, would they want to know if their neighbor was a sex offender or had done such a crime with a child? Would they want their kid walking to school past their neighbor's house every day knowing that they live there?" Merrill said.
- So why don't you walk to the bus stop with your child?  You know, be a parent!

In 2009, Vermont lawmakers approved a measure to post sex offenders' addresses to the online registry. The move was contingent on a favorable audit. Problems discovered in 2010 prevented that from happening. This audit was a second chance. But more errors likely mean the addresses of sexual predators will remain under wraps.

Audit Reports:

• Click here to read the 2014 audit
• Click here to read the 2010 audit

VT - Lenient living restrictions for sex offenders

Original Article

10/31/2013

By Bridget Shanahan

Advocates say living restrictions could keep communities safer

COLCHESTER - Sex offender laws do not do enough to protect our families, say advocates for both victims and sex offenders.

Vermont's laws governing convicted sex offenders are more lenient than neighboring states, including New Hampshire and New York.

Offenders can pretty much live wherever they want as long as they're not on probation or parole: that includes next to schools, playgrounds and day cares.
- And that is how it should be!  Residency laws do nothing to prevent crime or protect anybody and study after study has been done to show it does basically nothing except prevent registrants from getting homes, jobs, support, etc, which could put people in potentially more danger from those who are prone to committing new crimes.

They're required to register, but only for a set amount of time, and even then the public doesn't know exactly where they are.

The Chittenden Unit for Special Investigation is out in Essex, hunting down addresses and knocking on doors, for their yearly sex offender registry checks.

Their stops take them past schools, parks and other areas specially designed for children.
- But not all registrants have harmed a child, so the one-size-fits-all law is unconstitutional, in our opinion.

“A sex offender should stay away from areas where there are children if he's attracted to children. They should stay away,” Pastor Pete Fiske said.
- Registrants who are attracted to children (pedophilia) are rare, not the norm!

Fiske runs the church at prison and a religious treatment and reintegration program for all types of convicted criminals, sex offenders included.

He's working with recently released sex offender _____ -- imprisoned for handcuffing and sexually assaulting a young boy he met on the banks of a river in Southern Vermont.

After public outcry in Vermont, _____ tried to live in California, but the move sparked outrage from the mayor of San Francisco.

In a letter to Gov. Peter Shumlin, Mayor Edwin Lee says he's writing about a matter of "deep concern" and accuses the Vermont Department of Corrections of not notifying authorities of _____'s move, something Shumlin disputes.

Now _____ is back in Vermont, living in Hyde Park, just a mile or two from local schools.

“I think that if there are ways that we can help make the community aware, and if we can help protect the community, that we should take any steps possible,” Hope Works Executive Director Cathleen Wilson said.

Wilson works with sexual assault victims and agrees with Fiske, restricted living on a case-by-case basis, particularly when the crimes involve children.

“I think that would make a lot of sense. I think that would be a good step, quite honestly,” Wilson said.

It's something the city of Rutland already has: sex offender dwelling restrictions but only for those with crimes against children.

Despite those recommendations, Vermont Corrections Commissioner Andy Pallito still says enforcing zoning limits isn't the right move for sex offenders, arguing they'd be pushed out into rural areas without any treatment programs or law enforcement.

“When you start to enact sex offender zoning regulations, you start to drive people who have high risk out into areas where you really can't keep an eye on them,” Pallito said.

Rutland Mayor Chris Louras says that's not the case.

He says the guidelines help make his community safer and that sex offenders don't have a problem finding a home.

It's a similar system to the one Barre Mayor Thom Lauzon tried to put in place in his city, too, but the measure was stopped by a judge.

“As we sit here talking today, there are extremely high-risk offenders who have simply served their time and maxed. So they're no longer required to have treatment and they're no longer supervised by the Department of Corrections, and in those cases, I do think it's important to place restrictions, if you're on the registry,” Lauzen said.

The state of Vermont has considered creating statewide restrictions, but in the end, Sen. Dick Sears (D-Bennington) and other lawmakers decided against housing guidelines in favor of creating tougher penalties and the possibility of lifetime probation for sex offenders.

“We made a lot of steps to try to keep, particularly, kids safe, but Vermonters in general, safer from sex offenders, and I think as we worked on the bill it was general agreement based on what other states had experienced with residency requirements, that that would not help,” Sears said.

Right now there are only four sex offenders who will be monitored for life. They were initially sentenced to a maximum of life in prison and were released.

As for those sentenced to probation for life, the Department of Corrections doesn't track that information, but the director of field services said he believes there are likely "not many" on that list.

VT - Sex offender investigation: Treatment programs

Original Article (Video Available)

11/01/2013

By Bridget Shanahan

Studies have shown the therapy can help lower recidivism rates but not everyone gets help.

COLCHESTER - It’s a rare glimpse into a treatment program for sex offenders.

Studies have shown the therapy can help lower recidivism rates but not everyone gets help.
- Ex-sex offenders already have the lowest recidivism rate, for a new sexual crime, than any other ex-felon.

Sex offender treatment is only an option for Vermont inmates, and those who enroll end up being less than a quarter of the population.

But for those who choose, there is help. There are meetings and groups all over the state where convicted sex offenders can find support.

“It was like losing my child cause we were so close living together, you know,” Lucinda Milne said.

Not a day goes by for Milne without remembering her granddaughter, Brooke Bennett.

“Terrible. It's like a nightmare. A terrible, terrible nightmare that I haven't woke up to yet,” Milne said.

Milne's son-in-law is awaiting his final sentencing after being convicted of kidnapping, raping and killing his 12-year-old niece, Brooke, five years ago.

“I just couldn't believe that he did those things. You know? Tore my family apart,” Milne said.

_____ was a convicted sex offender when he killed Brooke, and like many others in Vermont he'd been through treatment, both while he was in prison and when he was released on probation.

When we asked Milne if she thought treatment could help someone like _____  she said, “I'm not sure. I'm not sure.”

According to a Vermont Department of Corrections study, those who go through treatment are less likely to reoffend. But convicted sex offenders cannot be forced into a program while they're incarcerated. Prison officials say that's because the program works best when offenders are committed to it similar to AA or drug rehab programs.

”If I’m in a situation where I may be tempted, I have the skills to think my way through it and get out of it. That's what we can offer in a treatment program,” Corrections commissioner Andy Pallito said.

That study is now more than 10 years old.

And according to more current information obtained by Newschannel Five, the number of sex offenders in Vermont prisons was between 450 and 550 each year from 2008 to 2012 but because of limited space only 78 of those can be in treatment at any given time. In an email to WPTZ the DOC noted there has not been a waitlist for quote "quite some time."

And because Vermont has no civil confinement law, which can keep high risk offenders in prison past their sentence, those without treatment are simply released when their sentence is up.

“Some people, I think, tend to judge people when they hear the word or when they find out you've come out of prison they tend to judge you on what you did and that's who they think you are.”

Two years after his release, this convicted sex offender still worries about the repercussions of identifying himself as a sex offender. He asked us to conceal his identity.

He went through treatment in prison and says he's continuing to make progress now that he's on the outside.

“It's accepting responsibility for what you've done, what you're capable of, that you did what you did, acknowledging it and not making any excuses.”

He attends a weekly faith-based meeting in Burlington for ex-cons. It's hosted by Pastor Pete Fiske from the Church at Prison.

“Nobody is born wanting to be a sex offender. It happens in their lives. They get messed up. And it's despicable and they know it,” Fiske said.

Fiske helps provide support to those he says society often rejects.

“If you have that you have to learn how to manage that, like in AA alcoholics learn how to manage their addictions,” Fiske said.

Still, some will never find faith in treatment. There's simply too much to overcome.

“I don't want somebody to buy the house that right over there and move in that's a sex offender. I don't care if he's married, got kids or not. I don't want him in my neighborhood. It would bring back too much. Too much,” Milne said.

VT - 2 more Rutland cops (David Schauwecker, James Tarbell & Craig Petrie) accused of watching porn named

Original Article

10/17/2013

By Ali Freeman

RUTLAND - A Rutland City Police officer faced criminal charges for watching porn on the job in 2010. But a recent internal investigation revealed that two other officers did as well.

After a three-year battle between the Rutland Herald and the city, the Vermont Supreme Court ruled Friday that the internal investigation must be turned over. WCAX News has also obtained those documents and a current sergeant was listed for downloading thousands of pornographic images at work.

"Looking at pornography on duty as a Rutland City Police officer is a very, very serious matter," Rutland City Police Chief James Baker said.

Baker says this type of misconduct is not tolerated at the Rutland City Police Department. But recently released internal investigations show that before Baker's time in the PD's top spot, three officers were caught watching porn on the job.

In 2010, an officer was caught with porn on duty and criminal charges forced David Schauwecker out of the department, and brought the details to the public. But that was just one of three Rutland police officers since 2004 who have been caught with porn at work.

"The situation was investigated, a punishment was assigned, a punishment was served and the case was closed," Rutland Police Commissioner Larry Jensen said.

Although the three investigations happened under former Chief Anthony Bossi's watch, two of the names have just been released for the first time. In a lengthy investigation, current sergeant-- Det. James Tarbell-- was front and center in the first investigation in 2004. The investigation reveals that a computer tech was trying to fix a glitch on Tarbell's computer in 2004 and stumbled upon pornographic images. It goes on to say that Tarbell downloaded 25,000 graphic images, 94 explicit videos and several images of possible child pornography. But that couldn't be proven because the ages of the females are unknown. So, no criminal charges were filed.

During questioning, Tarbell said he was only looking at the images for research and he doesn't get "…any pleasure from that, and certainly nothing that I did for my own gain."

He explained: "Look at the setting... If I was going to be doing this I think I would be doing it in my home, in my own computer with nobody else around... I did it here because it is a controlled environment and I had a goal in mind. Not my own personal pleasure."

"He accepted his punishment, he moved on, and since 2004, I know of nothing that Sergeant Tarbell has done that would rise to a level of discipline within a department. He has had a spotless record for nine years," Baker said.

Tarbell was suspended for 10 days without pay. A separate investigation in 2010 revealed that animal control officer Craig Petrie was also caught emailing and downloading porn at work. He, too, was suspended without pay and retired earlier this year.

Chief Baker says this misconduct isn't excusable, but these officers cannot be punished twice. What is important now, he says, is to look to the future.

"This is very trying times. This police department has been through a lot in the last 10-15 years. I feel bad that it is coming out on my watch. I feel bad that the members of the department have to go through it. But as I said to the sergeants today, it's time to lead," Baker said.

Baker also says that contrary to other media reports, Tarbell was not promoted. Last year, he was transferred to the BCI unit, but it was a reassignment, not a promotion.

NY - Federal appeals court finds penile stimulation test 'invasive' in sex offender case

Original Article

10/03/2013

By LARRY NEUMEISTER

NEW YORK - Subjecting a sex offender who is no longer imprisoned to "extraordinarily invasive" penile stimulation testing risks violating the premise that even convicts retain their humanity, a federal appeals court said Thursday.

The ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (PDF) in Manhattan frees former police officer David McLaurin of a requirement that he submit to penile plethysmography (Wikipedia), a test in which a man's erectile responses are measured as he is shown sexually stimulating images.

An all-male three-judge appeals panel said it saw a "clear distinction" between penis measurement and other conditions of supervised release, including restrictions on where sex offenders may live, their interactions with children and their access to pornographic material.

"But we see no reasonable connection between fluctuating penis size and public protection — certainly none strong enough to survive the careful scrutiny that we give to unusual or severe conditions of supervised release," the court wrote of the conditions imposed after someone completes a prison sentence. "A person, even if convicted of a crime, retains his humanity."

McLaurin, 48, challenged the requirement after a Vermont judge sentenced him to 15 months in prison, to be followed by a treatment program that could include the testing, because McLaurin failed to fill out paperwork required by sex offenders. McLaurin had notified authorities that he would be working as a chef at a Putney, Vermont, inn in 2011, but he later lost the job and went to the Birmingham, Alabama, area, where he was arrested. He was returned to Vermont to face charges and was released from prison in November.

He was required to register as a sex offender because he was convicted more than a decade ago of producing child pornography for photographing a topless 13-year-old girl who told authorities she had requested a photo shoot to help her modeling career, the court said.

A Vermont federal judge who concluded McLaurin was "unlikely to reoffend again" had said it was "standard" to include a test in which a man's erectile responses are measured as he is shown sexually stimulating images.

The appeals panel said the government had cited instances when Vermont judges had ordered the procedure, but the court added that judges in New York and Connecticut within the 2nd Circuit had not recently imposed such conditions and that the probation office in Vermont has ceased recommending it.

The appeals court said it seemed "odd" to try to deter someone from committing sex crimes by showing him depictions of sex.

"We hold that this extraordinarily invasive condition is unjustified, is not reasonably related to the statutory goals of sentencing, and violates McLaurin's right to substantive due process," it said. The court found the testing "is unduly intrusive and bears insufficient relation to correctional or medical treatment, the protection of the public or deterrence of a crime."

McLaurin's public defender, Steven L. Barth, said he was pleased with the ruling.

"Mr. McLaurin and the Federal Defender Office felt strongly that the invasive plethysmograph testing condition was unwarranted and unconstitutional," he said.

Prosecutors did not immediately respond to a message for comment.

The appeals court did not hide its skepticism about the two- to three-hour test, in which a man's penis is attached to a pressure-sensitive device known as a plethysmograph. The apparatus measures minute changes in blood flow and erection size as the subject views pornographic images or videos.

The judges flatly rejected government arguments that the procedure amounted to "treatment" for sex offenders, saying prosecutors offered no evidence "that this exceedingly intrusive procedure has any therapeutic benefit, and none is apparent to us."

It cited a ruling similar to its own by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco that found the test's accuracy and reliability "have been severely questioned."

The 2nd Circuit said even if the test were accurate, "the goal of correctional treatment during supervised release is properly directed at conduct, not at daydreaming."

The procedure "inflicts the obviously substantial humiliation of having the size and rigidity of one's penis measured and monitored by the government under the threat of incarceration for a failure to fully cooperate," the 2nd Circuit judges wrote.

As the court noted, the procedure was developed by Czech psychiatrist Kurt Freund as a means to study sexual deviance and it was at one time used by the Czech government to identify and "cure" homosexuals.

The court wrote: "Whether the device was 'successful' in this regard is not reflected in the record."