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Sex Offender Release, Sex Offender Arrested

I have said it before, and I will say it again. Exactly when will the judical system realize that it is not IF a sex offender will reoffend- it's WHEN they will. Here's a perfect example of what I am talking about.


Source HERE
RACINE - A two-time sex offender who continued to display intense fantasies toward children was released from a sex offender treatment center without supervision last year after a Milwaukee court concluded he was not a high risk to re-offend.

Then, just 10 days after his release, Eric Pletz was arrested in Burlington after he tried to lure a boy, 11 years old at the time, into his motel room with video games.

The boy was waiting at a bus stop when Pletz approached him on Nov. 22, 2004. The boy, who is now 12 years old, did not respond to Pletz's advances and told a parent, which led to an arrest.

Pletz, 30, is now behind bars at the Racine County Jail awaiting a jury trial that is scheduled to begin Tuesday in Racine Circuit Judge Gerald Ptacek's courtroom. A plea deal has been offered but Pletz has yet to accept it, said Assistant District Attorney Randall Schneider.

Offended,

and re-offended Pletz, who's listed in court records as currently living in Burlington, is charged with child enticement for sexual contact. He faces 15 years in prison and up to a $100,000 fine, according to the criminal complaint.

If convicted, this will

be Pletz's third sex crime against a child, according to court records.

His case history, and pending trial, tell a perplexing story of a convicted sex offender who was released back into society without completing treatment, without any supervision and in spite of a psycologist's conclusions that he was a pedophile who had "serious difficulty" in controlling his behavior.

Further, court records show Pletz re-offended shortly after being released from state custody after his first offense - and is now accused of reoffending within weeks of being released on his second offense.

The reasons Pletz was released from custody appear to stem from two facts:

* He was a juvenile when he committed his first two crimes.

* He opted out of treatment, which forbade a treatment center from telling the court there were signs of "imminent danger" that Pletz would re-offend.

Case history Pletz's first conviction was for first-degree sexual assault when he was 14 years old. He was 17 when he was released from a juvenile facility and he re-offended about a month later. He was charged with second-degree sexual assault as an adult and sent to prison, court documents show.

In 1998, a court ordered Pletz to the state's Chapter 980 program, which allows sexually violent individuals to be committed to the Sand Ridge Secure Treatment Center, a state-run facility in Mauston, about 75 miles northwest of Madison.

On Nov. 12, 2004, Pletz was released from Sand Ridge after a court determined Pletz was no longer a sexually violent person.

Court records show that James Harasymiw, an independent psychologist, found Pletz was no longer a high-risk sexual predator and that he was no longer a high threat to re-offend. With that, Harasymiw recommended complete discharge from Sand Ridge. Based upon the psychologist's report, the judge agreed.

Harasymiw's report said there were factors that were near commitment criteria, meaning the state could hold Pletz longer than his sentence. But, because Pletz committed his second crime as a juvenile, Harasymiw reported that Pletz was a lower risk to commit another sex crime.

Even though Pletz had been charged as an adult for at least one of his crimes, the medical profession does not consider patients adults until they turn 18.

"Pletz is a juvenile-only offender and these individuals have a lower rate of re-offending versus adult offenders," Harasymiw wrote.

`Imminent danger' There is no testing available that can predict if a juvenile sex offender will re-offend, but testing materials are in trial, said David Thornton, treatment director at Sand Ridge.

A sex offender's age is considered a factor in whether they are a risk to commit another crime once they are released back into society. Most adolescents do at least one stupid or foolish thing in their lives and don't repeat the act, Thornton said.

Approximately 5 to 10 percent of juvenile sex offenders re-offend, compared to 25 percent of adult offenders, Thornton said.

Officials at Sand Ridge, however, were ready to introduce evidence that showed Pletz still had high risk factors for re-offending, said Steve Watters, the director at Sand Ridge.

During Pletz's release hearing before the Milwaukee court, Watters said, the center's findings weren't allowed to be introduced because they were seen as supervised release factors and not discharge factors.

"Our treatment assessment director was going to testify that there were signs of imminent danger that Pletz presented because of how impulsive he was inside and outside the institution," Watters said.

Court records raise concerns And even though Sand Ridge couldn't submit testimony during Pletz's release hearing, the report given to the judge also raised concerns about Pletz's mental state.

Pletz continued to display impulsive behavior and deviant sexual arousal, and continued to have intense fantasies, urges and arousals toward children, according to Harasymiw's report.

Other risks that were listed in Harasymiw's report included: * Pletz has re-offended while on supervised release.

* Pletz continues to display a large degree of impulsive

behavior.

* Pletz has not successfully completed sex offender

treatment.

The report further concluded that Pletz was diagnosed with pedophilia and antisocial personality disorder, which "predisposes him to commit sexually violent acts ... and represents serious difficulty in controlling his

behavior."

Still, the very next finding in the report concludes: "At this time, Mr. Pletz is assessed as not representing a substantial probability to commit another sexually violent offense."

Harasymiw did not return phone calls to The Journal Times about his report.

No treatment,

no supervision Because of his age at the time of his second offense, Pletz was released without supervision.

"What it came down to in the court was that Eric Pletz was a juvenile-only offender," Watters said.

Despite the treatment center's concerns, not only was Pletz released, he was given a complete discharge because it was determined he no longer posed a high threat to the community. As a result, supervised release

wasn't an option.

Committed sex offenders must successfully complete treatment or make significant progress in treatment in order to be placed on supervised release. The same high standard for supervised release does not apply for complete discharge from the treatment center, according to state law.

"Once they no longer meet commitment criteria for a sexual violent person they have to be discharged. If we say they're no longer a threat and put them on supervised release, it's unconstitutional," Watters said.

Without treatment, it is possible for a sexual offender to change their behavior, Watters said.

"There are other factors. For instance, age and life-altering illness. A person who is 80 years old is not likely to re-offend again," Watters said.

But by not receiving treatment, Pletz laid the groundwork for his full release. In Pletz's own words he did not complete treatment because, "people who participate do not get out," the report says.

New trial

starts Tuesday Pletz declined treatment, got out and found himself back in jail 10 days later.

On Tuesday, a 12-year-old boy will have to face Pletz in court and testify that Pletz allegedly tried to get him to go back to Pletz's motel room.

If Pletz is convicted and sent to prison, the Attorney General's office or the Racine County District Attorney's office can petition to have Pletz recommitted to Sand Ridge under the state's Chapter 980 law.

An independent psychologist would then render an opinion annually on whether Pletz should remain committed.

Until then, officials are left to reflect on a case of a two-time child sex offender being released without supervision - and winding up back in jail on charges of child enticement.

"One of the big lessons from this case is it does show in many ways the importance of supervised release as a safety step for the community," Watters said. "If the alternative is discharge for the release, it provides no safety net for the community."


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