Longer sex offender sentences

Predatory sex offenders could be spending many more years in custody.

Sponsored by Rep. Tony Cornish (R-Good Thunder), HF6 would create an indeterminate sentencing structure for such criminals.

Approved as amended March 15 by the House Public Safety and Crime Prevention Policy and Finance Committee, the bill was held over two days later by the House Judiciary Policy and Finance Committee for possible omnibus bill inclusion. A companion, SF102, sponsored by Sen. Bill Ingebrigtsen (R-Alexandria), awaits action by the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee.

Under the bill, a two-phase trial would occur. Phase one would determine the guilt or innocence of a defendant. Once convicted, a jury would then determine beyond a reasonable doubt if the person is a predatory offender.

Rep. Sheldon Johnson (DFL-St. Paul) and Rep. Joe Mullery (DFL-Mpls) expressed concern about having a jury make that decision, rather than using a professional risk assessment approach.

“I disagree that a jury in seeing someone for a few hours can determine better whether they might reoffend than somebody who’s an expert working with them for a few years,” Mullery said. “But those are things we can work with as we progress on this. I think it’s a very good first step.”

A person convicted of a first- through fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct, who is proven to be a predatory sex offender, shall serve “a minimum of twice the presumptive sentence for this offense, and a maximum of 60 years,” Cornish said. “After the mandatory minimum sentence is served, if the convicted person wants to be released under conditional release, he must petition the commissioner of corrections.”

The public has overwhelmingly said it expects something drastic to be done with predatory sex offenders, Cornish said.

We don’t want a lot of people incarcerated, but we want to protect society against repeat offenders, said Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman.

The state’s sex offender program is expected to double its population in the next decade, according to Cornish. “It’s a foregone conclusion … we’re going to have to look at a bonding bill and committing to a program that hasn’t successfully graduated anybody yet.” The program, enacted in 1994, costs about three times as much as incarceration in a state prison.

“The main crux of the bill is we can’t afford to do what we’re doing,” he said. “We need to put the worst ones away.”