SD41 - Report of the Office of the Lieutenant Governor on Habitual Sex Offender Subcommittee


Executive Summary:
Virginians are ready to fight crime however, some are apprehensive about strategy, especially when battling sex offenders. The number of reported sex offenses, particularly those against children, is growing. Victims of sex offenders frequently have permanent effects on their lives. The untreated victims of childhood sexual abuse often pass on their own unresolved pain to next generation's offender; the cycle continues. Medical, psychological and corrections research all show that sex offenders are among the most difficult people to treat The same research also reports that some sex offenders will have hundreds of victims.

Not all sex offenders are the same; some are habitual offenders, others opportunists. Offenders commit crimes indiscriminately and repeatedly against the vulnerable in our society. American and international research reports that different types of offenders may respond to different treatment methods. Only a small percentage -- habitual sex offenders -- are resistant to present-day treatment.

National data suggests few of these offenders, whatever their typology, ever enter the criminal justice system. For those convicted, rehabilitation is a major challenge. In Virginia, 65 percent of sex offenders are repeat offenders.

Are sex offenders criminals or victims of mental illness? Different states have looked at different answers to this essential question. The state of Washington has a statute allowing indefinite commitment of the offender to secure mental health facilities. The law is based on the premise that habitual sex offenders suffer from a mental defect or disease which renders them unresponsive to existing mental illness treatments.

HJR 193 requested the Commission on the Reduction of Sexual Assault Victimization in Virginia to study the confinement of habitual sex offenders, with a concentration on Washington's existing statute. The Commission was requested to determine the feasibility and appropriateness of adapting the Washington statute and program for implementation in Virginia.

After reviewing the state of Washington statute and a similar statute from case law in Minnesota, as well as Virginia sex offender conviction data, the Habitual Sex Offender Subcommittee of the Sexual Assault Commission has unanimously agreed on two clear points. First, sex offenses are criminal acts. Second, we in Virginia must punish the convicted offender within the confines of the criminal justice system.

We recognize that many sex offenders do have mental illness, and they should receive treatment while incarcerated for their crimes. For those offenders who commit repeated violent sex crimes, the subcommittee recommends life in prison without early release.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Amend the Code of Virginia to allow for enhanced punishment of habitual sex offenders.

2. Direct the Department of Planning and Budget and the Department of Corrections to project the costs associated with these recommendations.