Nov 15, 2008 - 04:06:08 CST
A Bismarck man who committed a sex offense while living in a house rented by the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for sex offenders with nowhere else to go has been sentenced to prison.South Central District Judge Robert Wefald sentenced Geoffrey Miller on Friday to 10 years, with all but three years suspended, and five years of supervised probation for corruption of a minor. The sentence will run consecutive to a sentence Miller currently is serving on a probation revocation in a gross sexual imposition case.
Miller is serving a 10-year sentence in that case, with credit for a little more than 18 months served.
Miller, 24, was arrested after a probation officer found a 17-year-old girl at the home at 223 S. 14th St. during a random check. He was charged with the Class C felony in June after an investigation revealed he had engaged in a sexual act with the girl.
Burleigh County Assistant State's Attorney Cynthia Feland moved for Miller to be found a "special dangerous habitual offender" by the court. Wefald found that he was such an offender, making Miller eligible for a 10-year sentence, double the normal maximum for a Class Cfelony.
The North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation leased the house in December 2007 for one year to serve as temporary housing for sex offenders with nowhere else to go. The offenders sublease it at a daily rate dependent on the situation.
Following the arrest of Miller and another man who lived at the house at the same time, the DOCR announced the lease would not be renewed once it is up, though the department plans to find other means for helping homeless sex offenders transition into the community.
Probation Officer Brian Weigel, who supervises sex offenders, said the lease on the house expires on Nov. 30. Two offenders who live in the home will be homeless, he said. Though a similar program has been operational in Fargo, the Bismarck community has not supported it, Weigel said.
"We have not found a solution to fill the void," he said. "We are exploring different options, and in Bismarck we've decided not to do the same type of program because we'd run into the same community safety issues. So we're looking for other options that probably provide more security."
The DOCR has been in contact with landlords who will rent to sex offenders directly, Weigel said.
"But for somebody who has no money and no residence, we have a very serious homelessness issue," he said.
Supervising people without a permanent residence is difficult, though some homeless offenders have been tracked by GPS systems in the past, Weigel said. But supervision aside, the department doesn't want the offenders resorting to sleeping in their cars, which occurs in many places in the state, he said.
"That's not good," he said. "We have to come up with something that's going to work in Bismarck."
Weigel said he hopes to bring together community groups, including law enforcement and local governments, to come up with a solution in the future.
(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@;bismarcktribune.com.)
Questions wrote on Nov 16, 2008 7:58 PM:
Judgemental wrote on Nov 15, 2008 11:17 PM:
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To The Editor: Why are you not posting my comments???????????????? "
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Questions wrote on Nov 15, 2008 5:28 AM:
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