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St. Paul notification meeting will detail 12 predatory offenders at once, alarming some

Saint Paul Pioneer Press - 9/24/2018

Sept. 24--Community meetings about Level 3 predatory offenders have become somewhat commonplace in St. Paul, but an upcoming meeting -- involving 12 offenders -- has drawn attention and ire from some.

One woman asked on Facebook: Why are "we even housing predators (and) giving them a chance to re-offend"?

Another suggested the men should be put on an island together, away from children.

Others mused on the intersection of civil rights and protection of society, and proposed that people attend the community meeting to find out more.

While 12 predatory offenders with a Level 3 classification are the subject of Wednesday's meeting, not all are new to St. Paul, according to a Minnesota Department of Corrections official.

Six already lived in St. Paul and are now at new addresses. Three moved to the city after being released from prison. And three came to St. Paul from other cities.

The 12 men are living in various St. Paul neighborhoods, with eight in areas of the East Side.

Diane Neal, executive director of Project Pathfinder, says she never wants to minimize people's fears, but she also wants them to know the realities of sex crimes: Most happen within families, and sex offenders have low rates of recidivism.

The St. Paul-based nonprofit provides sex offender treatment programs and works on community education, with the goal of preventing sexual assault from happening in the first place.

Neal encourages people who attend community notification meetings to ask questions, such as: What was the person's original offense and when did it occur? Have they received treatment?

"Everybody should feel safe, so ask questions," Neal said.

55 LEVEL 3 OFFENDERS LIVING IN ST. PAUL

The numbers of Level 3 offenders in St. Paul tend to ebb and flow, said St. Paul officer Jeremy Doverspike, who works in the department's predatory offender registry unit.

"It's hit-and-miss on when offenders move, so there's no reason for it," he said. "... It's nothing to do with us inviting them in or telling them where to go. They're moving on their own and we have to notify the public."

Across Minnesota, there are 396 Level 3 predatory offenders living in communities, according to Mark Bliven, director of risk assessment/community notification with the state corrections department.

Of those, 55 reside in St. Paul, compared with 50 in July 2017.

Adults who are charged with a predatory offense -- such as criminal sexual conduct, kidnapping or false imprisonment -- have to register as a predatory offender if they are convicted of a crime arising from the same set of circumstances. If they go to prison, they are assessed and assigned a risk level, ranging from 1 to 3, before they are released.

People classified as a Level 3 offender have "a higher number of risk factors associated with them," Bliven said.

But that means they're subject to more monitoring, supervision and community notification, which has "in effect reduced the likelihood of re-offense," according to Bliven.

MOST SEXUALLY ASSAULTED JUVENILES THEY KNEW

People who attend community notification meetings can get overall information about the offense history of an individual and what block they're living on.

An online public registry also lists information about Level 3 offenders and those released from the Minnesota Sex Offender Program.

Of the 12 men who are the subject of Wednesday's meeting in St. Paul, eight of them sexually assaulted juveniles whom they knew; two also had sexual contact with juveniles they did not know, according to summaries of their offenses from the Minnesota Department of Corrections.

National statistics have shown that about 93 percent of sex crimes are perpetrated by someone known to the victim.

Among the other Level 3 offenders whom the St. Paul community is being notified about:

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Mark Ray Davis, 38, asked a woman he didn't know for a ride in 1997 in Chisago County. Using a weapon and force, he sexually assaulted her; he also bound the woman, left her and stole her car, according to a DOC summary. He pleaded guilty to first-degree criminal sexual conduct and was sentenced to more than eight years in prison. He's been sent back to prison for third-degree assault and violating the terms of his registration as a predatory offender.

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When Brandon Will Campbell was 16 years old, in 1996, he was accused of beating his girlfriend's toddler son to death in Cloquet. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to eight years in prison. Campbell is required to register as a predatory offender due to a 1995 adjudication for second-degree criminal sexual conduct, according to a court document. He's also gone back to prison for illegal possession of a pistol and violating the terms of his registration as a predatory offender.

*

Larry Dale Bridgeforth, 68, has a history of criminal sexual conduct with women he didn't know, according to a DOC summary. He approached them in a public place and used force to gain compliance. He pleaded guilty to attempted fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct in Hennepin County in 1994 and first-degree criminal sexual conduct in Ramsey County in 2000.

LOW RATES OF OFFENDING AGAIN

Law enforcement officials say the community meetings aren't meant to make people afraid, but to increase awareness.

The St. Paul police department has held about half-dozen Level 3 community meetings this year, with each meeting covering two to four offenders. The meetings have each drawn 10 to 20 people, Doverspike said.

"People want to know why they're moving into their neighborhood," he said. "... Just because there's a Level 3 offender doesn't mean that there's a different level offender living in your neighborhood who you don't know about."

For Level 2 offenders, schools, day cares and some others within a particular geographic area are notified, but there's not broad community notification about them or Level 1 offenders.

The sexual recidivism rate for predatory offenders is among the lowest of offenders leaving prison, Bliven said.

Recent Minnesota Department of Corrections research has shown about 2 percent of predatory offenders are convicted of another sex offense after leaving prison, according to Bliven.

Of the people Neal has worked with, she said nearly all of them "feel badly and wish they had never harmed anyone."

"There's a lot of different motivating factors that contribute to sex offense behaviors," Neal said. "Community and family support are protective factors that contribute to reducing recidivism and eliminating those behaviors."

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IF YOU GO

* What: Level 3 predatory offender notification meeting regarding 12 men who moved into St. Paul or are living at new addresses.

* When: Wednesday, Sept. 26, 6 p.m.

* Where: St. Paul Police Department Western District, 389 N. Hamline Ave.

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FYI

People can look up information about Level 3 offenders by name, zip code, city or county at coms.doc.state.mn.us/PublicRegistrantSearch.

Ramsey County SOS Sexual Violence Services offers free and confidential services for victims, and also general information and assistance for other people concerned about sexual violence in the community. The phone number is 651-266-1000.

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