You Can Establish That It’s More Probable Than Not That You Pose No Risk To The Community

In re B.C., 2018 IL App (3d) 170025 (February). Episode 465 (Duration 13:21)



The law does allow a petitioner to establish that it is “more probable than not” that he poses no risk to the community not withstanding an evaluation that says he poses a "low risk to the community."



Gist The minor was 14 years old when he put his penis in the mouth and anus of two 8 year old boys. He was charged in juvenile court under aggravated criminal sexual abuse and was adjudicated.



Registration Required He had a 10 year registration requirement and it later turned into a 20 year period.



Original Evaluation Dr. Antoinette Kavanaugh evaluated B.C. In her report, Kavanaugh said B.C. appeared to be making positive strides in therapy, and he had improved his social skills. Kavanaugh noted that assessing B.C.’s risk of reoffense was “not an easy task” because recidivism rates for adolescent sex offenders were low compared to adult sex offenders and a 100% accurate empirical risk assessment did not exist.



Nevertheless, Kavanaugh cited the following factors that may reduce B.C.’s likelihood of reoffense:



(1) B.C. had no history of juvenile delinquency before the adjudicated offense (2) since B.C.’s adjudication, he has not had any new involvement with the justice system (3) B.C. consistently engaged in and demonstrated progress in treatment (4) B.C. admitted that he committed the offenses (5) B.C.’s level of denial had decreased (6) B.C.’s exposure to sexually explicit material had decreased (7) B.C. did not have a history of being victimized (8) B.C. did not have a deviant sexual arousal pattern (9) B.C.’s family was willing to engage in treatment (10) B.C. was involved in a functional family system (11) B.C. did not have a history of academic or behavioral problems (12) B.C. had increased his involvement with peers his age and decreased his involvement with younger peers (13) B.C. had increased parental and adult supervision (14) B.C.’s empathy for the victims had increased but was still incomplete (15) B.C. did not have a history of drug or alcohol use (16) B.C.’s social skills were increasing and (17) B.C. was not suffering from a significant emotional or psychological problem.



Kavanaugh also cited four factors that may increase B.C.’s likelihood of reoffense:



(1) B.C. and his parents continued to display cognitive distortions related to the offense (2) B.C. and his family did not have sufficient knowledge of the environmental, interpersonal, and family factors that may have contributed to the abuse (3) B.C. and his family have yet to develop an appropriate level of victim empathy and (4) B.C. and his family failed to completely understand the exploitative nature of the offenses.



Finishes Probation Five years he was discharged from probation.



...11 Years Later 11 years after that he petitioned for termination of his sex offender registration requirement. 730 ILCS 150/3-5(c).



The petition alleged that



(1) B.C. became statutorily eligible to petition for termination on September 1, 2005 (2) B.C. had successfully completed a sex offender treatment program, and (3) according to licensed professional evaluator Pamela Munson, B.C. was a “low risk to re-offend,” had a plan for accountability, and was aware of his triggers.



What He Was Up To... At the hearing on the petition, B.C. testified that he committed the charged offenses when he was 14 years old.



Since his convictions, B.C. had graduated from high school and attended 1½ years of community college. After high school, B.C. worked full time at several Taco Bell locations. B.C. had also worked as a manager at a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant and was then the general manager of the Taco Bell in Crest Hill.



He had no new arrests, no violations of probation and had met all his registration requirements.



Victim Impact Statement The State called Tammy M., the mother of J.M., to read a victim impact statement.



In her statement, Tammy detailed J.M.’s continuing anxiety and emotional distress caused by B.C.’s actions. Tammy acknowledged that people can change, but advocated that B.C. remain on the sex offender registry for as long as possible because of the harm B.C. had caused to J.M.



Counseling After Probation & Further after his probation ended he sought additional counseling to get a handle on his issues and to ensure he didn’t re offend.



He successfully completed a sex offender treatment program after his probation had ended and had a low risk to reoffend. Munson explained that the sex offender treatment program consisted of three phases:



(1) offender check-ins and learning accountability for the deviant behavior (2) accountability, understanding the cognitive errors that led to the offender’s poor choices, and developing empathy and understanding the impact of the offender’s actions on the victim and society; and (3) managing and understanding the...

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