A New York state sex offender had excelled in treatment, serving as a model example that even pedophile sex offenders considered dangerous by the state – those civilly committed in a secured facility – can benefit from treatment to a point where they can be released to community supervision, says the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle in a series on the state’s handling of offenders.
The offender had received chemical castration that made the likelihood that he would commit a new sex crime less than 5 percent. Despite all of that, state officials refused to release him. Last week, a judge blasted the state, questioning whether officials have set such tough barriers to release that offenders have little motivation to cooperate with treatment. The judge ordered the man released from confinement and put in the parole-based part of the civil commitment program. If such challenges to treatment mount, the legal foundation of the civil commitment program could be at risk.