A Vermont sex offender who was set to be released from prison has been charged with a probation violation because he his homeless. From The Bennington Banner:
A sex offender set to be released from prison on Sept. 20 was charged with a violation of probation in Bennington District Court on Tuesday because he does not have a residence.
Public Defender Frederick Bragdon said [the man] was not intentionally flaunting the probation system, saying his client simply was unable to find a residence.
"Inability is not willfulness," Bragdon said.
Bragdon said his client had been incarcerated for a year, and that he did not have family or other connections upon which he could rely.
Judge John Wesley said he had to "stretch" to find probable cause in the case, and indicated his concern about the matter.
"([The man]) is conceivably being set up to fail by having no place to stay," Wesley said. "This is going to require significant social work on the part of the Department of Corrections that work, this split sentence could turn into an indefinite prison term."
According to an affidavit by Probation Officer David Jankowski, [the man] was given a 18 month- to 5-year sentence, all suspended except for one year, in September 2007 on three counts of lewd and lascivious conduct with a child.
Jankowski said [the man] served his one-year minimum, and had been scheduled to be released on Sept. 20, but said [he] was unable to find a residence in the community.
Jankowski said in the affidavit that supervision of a homeless sex offender is not an ideal situation, and that there is the potential for a community risk issue.
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