Sex Crimes Archives - Page 6 of 10 - Keller Criminal Defense Attorneys

Jul: 31, 2014

Criminal Sexual Conduct Conviction for Cook Co. Prosecutor Scannel

Tim Scannel, a former Cook County Minnesota Prosecutor, was found guilty on Friday July 25, 2014 of two counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct. The charges stemmed from his having a relationship with a 17 year old girl.

Jul: 28, 2014

Legalized Prostitution Leads to Fewer Rapes in Rhode Island?

According to the Washington Post's recent analysis, Rhode Island accidentally legalized prostitution for several years. This was due to a drafting mistake when the Rhode Island Legislature revised part of the prostitution laws. According to a study cited by the Post, rape crimes when down when prostitution was legal in Rhode Island.

Jul: 04, 2014

Robbinsdale, Minnesota Police Chief Busted for Soliciting Prostitute

As you may have heard, the Police Chief of Robbinsdale, Minnesota was recently arrested for soliciting a prostitute. In this case, the Police Chief, Steven D. Smith, was arrested February 20, 2014. The arrest of the police chief, however, did not become public until he was formally charged and appeared in court around March 23, 2014.

Dec: 03, 2013

Minnesota’s Sex Offender Treatment Program

The Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP) was created in 1993 to allow for the institutionalization of sex offenders after they have finished serving their prison sentences, but before they are released back into society. After nearly 20 years, the program has yet to rehabilitate and release a single offender. Twenty-six patients have died in the treatment facilities at Moose Lake and St. Peter, but none have returned to being contributing members of society.

Nov: 29, 2013

Minnesota legislators reconsider sex offender program in 2013

The Minnesota Sex Offender Program confines and treats high-risk offenders after they have completed their prison sentences. Politics in Minnesota reports that the state has the highest per-capita rate of civil commitments in the country, with more than 650 men currently enrolled in the program. Only two individuals have been discharged from the program over the past two decades. According to The Mankato Free Press, sex offenders are confined to high-security treatment facilities at an annual cost of approximately $120,000 per offender.

Nov: 03, 2013

Lawsuit may lead to changes in Minnesota’s sex offender policy

Convicted sex offenders face notoriously harsh punishments. In fact, only one person has ever been released in the history of the 19-year-old Minnesota Sex Offender Program. A new lawsuit filed by a sex offender that was committed civilly may determine that this current system is unconstitutional. The 2011 lawsuit is yet to be resolved in federal court; in the meantime, the Minnesota Department of Human Services is starting to consider alternative correction methods that are less restrictive.

Nov: 03, 2013

Hearing to determine if Minnesota serial rapist will be released

Not all sex offenders in Minnesota go to prison. In some cases, a court may decide that such a criminal should be held in a treatment center. Minnesota houses nearly 700 sex offenders in treatment facilities at St. Peter and Moose Lake, and $73 million is spent every year to lock these offenders up. In the last 20 years, however, only one person has ever been released from one of these centers. On Nov. 8, a panel of judges scheduled a hearing to determine whether there should be a second.

Oct: 03, 2013

Minneapolitans need to rethink the stranger with candy mentality

Although parents in Minneapolis have grown up with stories and urban legends of strangers lurking with candy, waiting to abduct children and do horrible things, the reality is that very few children are harmed by strangers. When we look at the numbers, nearly all incidents of child molestation are committed by family members or acquaintances, with only 7 percent being committed by strangers. So, if the “creepy man in the van” is a myth, why are we still so worried about him?

Sep: 03, 2013

What does a guilty plea actually mean to a teenager?

Most people in Eagan recognize that a sexual assault charge is incredibly serious and a conviction would come with a long prison sentence and potentially a lifetime on the Minnesota Sex Offender Registry. With this in mind, it may seem ridiculous to think that anyone would enter a guilty plea on a charge of rape unless he or she actually raped someone. Yet 38 percent of juveniles who are convicted and later exonerated were found to enter false confessions. So when a teenager pleads guilty to any crime, what does he or she actually mean?

Sep: 03, 2013

Sentencing for sex crimes could turn on biased evaluations

The role of a Minneapolis criminal defense lawyer is not always to clear someone’s name; sometimes the evidence of guilt is overwhelming and there is little a criminal defense lawyer can do to free his or her client. That does not mean, however, that a lawyer is useless, but rather the lawyer’s job is to ensure the trial is fair and the punishment is appropriate. For many criminal offenses, including sex crimes, a sentence may depend heavily on the evaluation of a mental health professional. In these cases, part of the lawyer’s job is to make sure that the evaluation is unbiased, because if it is not, the defendant could find him- or herself facing a long sentence in prison.

Category: Sex Crimes