The Cambridge Chronicle, July 2, 2010
Cambridge — Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone was honored last night as the recipient of the first ever Transition House Open Door Award for his dedication to domestic violence prevention efforts.
Transition House, Inc. held their annual meeting last night at the Anthenaeum House in Cambridge. Community leaders and members of the public were in attendance as they gave DA Leone the award and celebrated the shelter’s 35th anniversary. Transition House also launched their new Green Door Campaign, an effort to raise funds to turn their Emergency Shelter into an energy efficient facility. (more…)
The Boston Globe, June 21, 2010
About 50 social workers and police officers gathered Thursday at Newton-Wellesley Hospital for a seminar on the subject organized by the office of Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone.
“There are so many barriers to disclosure and conventional ways of thinking about abuse and violence, we want to help change the mindset of the people who see it and prosecute it,’’ said Leone in a telephone interview.
Approximately 85 percent of women seeking shelter from domestic violence in the state also reported pet abuse in their home. About 50 percent of children in shelter care reported protecting household pets from harm, and as many as 25 percent of domestic violence victims have reported that concern for their pets was a factor in their decision to leave or stay with an alleged batterer, according to Leone’s office.
The Lowell Sun, May 31, 2010
WOBURN — Living in a small apartment in Arlington and working two jobs just to scrape by, the 41-year-old victim of domestic assault says she couldn’t be happier.
“I went from a wonderful $600,000 house with new cars to being destitute,” said the woman, who did not want her name used. “But my life now is so much better.”
The woman’s 2004 marriage yielded two children and a lot of verbal and physical abuse. Then her husband’s crack-cocaine use spiraled out of control and the abuse grew worse.”It was getting to the point where I thought I’m going to die,” she said.
She packed up the children and walked out. He retaliated by cleaning out their joint bank accounts, left her without any child support and stopped paying the mortgage. Her dream house was foreclosed. She got a temporary restraining order, which he allegedly violated by harassing her.
In October 2008, he hauled the woman into court to try to vacate the restraining order. “I was scared,” she said.
With no money, no knowledge of the legal system and fearful of her husband, the woman sought legal help from a public-private program at the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office. The so-called Pro Bono Program is where private lawyers donate their time to represent clients seeking restraining orders. “Restraining orders are crucial for victims of domestic violence to protect themselves and, all too often, victims who cannot afford an attorney return to the abusive environment that threatens them and their loved ones,” said Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone. “This program works to end that dangerous cycle.”
The Somerville Journal, April 2, 2010
Somerville — Clyde Howard is accused of fatally shooting his co-worker Maurice Ricketts outside their place of employment at Baystate Pool Supplies in Cambridge. According to authorities, the shooting followed an angry verbal confrontation between the two co-workers two months before the shooting.
Following several instances of workplace violence that have led to deaths, Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone is speaking to businesses throughout the county on workplace violence prevention.
“Most of us think of our workplace as a home away from home, but there have been several serious and fatal workplace violence incidents throughout the county in recent months,” Leone said. “One thing that we have learned from such incidents is the importance of prevention efforts and having policies and plans in place should such situations arise. By setting specific policies, developing and implementing plans and training staff, businesses can take critical steps towards protecting their co-workers. Everyone deserves a safe environment to work in, day-in and day-out.”
The Cambridge Chronicle- January 19, 2010
Cambridge — Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone, DCF Commissioner Angelo McClain, Police Chiefs from Arlington, Belmont and Cambridge, The Guidance Center, and domestic violence service providers will announce a new program aimed at preventing domestic violence homicides on Thursday.
The program, titled the Cambridge Arlington Belmont High Risk Assessment and Response Team (CAB HART), aims to reduce and prevent domestic violence homicides and hold offenders accountable by refining and tightening existing relationships between police, courts, and community providers in the cities of Cambridge, Arlington, and Belmont.
The Boston Herald- December 21, 2009
A highly educated and accomplished Lincoln couple married 63 years found out months before they succumbed to the ravages of old age that their longtime personal assistant had been stealing money from them.
“These people were smart, alert, engaged elders,” said Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr.
Leone founded the Safety and Protection For Every Elder Resident (SPEER) task force last year to combat the increasing number of economic predators preying on seniors in the suburbs.
Boston Globe West - October 29, 2009
The violent deaths of William and Jane Wyman of Newton last week, allegedly by his hand in the home they shared for decades, shows the need for more communication and education about domestic violence, said several local social workers and advocates.
Police believe William Wyman killed his wife of 65 years early Oct. 20 and then stabbed himself to death. He left a note describing what he had done, and notified a relative about it before the apparent murder-suicide, authorities said.
Lowell Sun - October 28, 2009
WESTFORD — Glittergrrl sends an instant message to Popcornisamazing “just to let her know” people were talking about her complexion.
It was a dig at one of the most important things to many high-school girls — their appearance.
However, Glittergrrl disguises it as an act of concern for her friend, justifying her previous text with another stating, “I would want to know if people were talking about me behind my back. Don’t be so dramatic.”
Lowell Sun - October 28, 2009
BOSTON — The county’s top prosecutor thinks juries, not judges, should decide whether Level 3 sex offenders are released back into the community or sent away to a state hospital.
Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone testified yesterday in favor of a piece of legislation that would change the way the court system handles convicted sex offenders who are scheduled to be released from prison.
The bill, filed by Sen. Steven Baddour, D-Methuen, and co-sponsored by a number of local lawmakers, would allow the state to request a jury trial to determine whether a sex offender still poses a risk to the public. Under current law, the predator has the power to forgo a jury trial and request that a dangerousness hearing be heard only by a judge.
Boston Herald - October 27, 2009
Hoping to hinder the David Flavells of the world from running amok, Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone Jr. will today appeal to legislators to strip serial perverts of the last word on whether a judge or jury should decide if they’re fit to live among us.
Boston Globe - October 26, 2009
Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr. plans to urge lawmakers today to change the state law for civilly committing individuals as sexual dangerous persons, five days after a convicted sex offender freed from jail over prosecutors’ objections allegedly attacked a woman at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Leone, in a previously scheduled appearance before a legislative committee, intends to promote a bill he helped craft that would make it more likely that juries rather than judges would decide whether to indefinitely commit sex offenders to a treatment center. He says Middlesex judges are more lenient than juries in such cases, which involve keeping offenders locked up after they have completed their prison sentences.
MetroWest Daily News - October 22, 2009
In the global cat-and-mouse game of terrorism, conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists is the charge that makes yesterday’s arrest of Tarek Mehanna a resounding victory for the government, Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone said last night .
It means, Leone said, “he only got so far as to agree with others to do something and that … is the best part. That means they couldn’t carry it out.”
When he was a federal prosecutor, Leone convicted Richard Reid, the first-admitted al Qaeda terrorist to be convicted in the United States. Known as the “Shoe Bomber,” Reid tried to blow up a plane carrying 180 passengers.
Bedford Transcript - October 9, 2009
Bedford, Mass. - The Bedford Rotary Club had a visit last week from the District Attorney (DA) of Middlesex County, Gerry Leone.
No, the Rotarians weren’t in trouble with the law. Rather, Leone appeared at the behest of his former law school classmate Bedford Rotarian Terrance Parker.
Boston Globe North - September 22, 2009
Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone swung by Andrews Middle School last Friday to see the Community Based Justice (CBJ) Program - a countywide school safety initiative - in action. He gave the joint effort at Andrews and McGlynn middle schools high marks, roughly three months after its launch.
“It’s working very well,” Leone said, adding that the city is building off of a successful CBJ program at the high school, thanks in large part to the leadership of Mayor Michael McGlynn and Superintendent Roy Belson.
The program launched at several Middlesex County high schools in 1991 under then-District Attorney Thomas F. Reilly, with Leone directing operations as a young prosecutor.
While the program has expanded to include all county high schools and, beginning in 2007, most middle schools, the basic model remains the same. Assistant district attorneys meet regularly with school resource officers, principals, and social service providers to identify students who have recently been charged with crimes, especially violent acts.
School officials have several options after the meetings - which are confidential - including suspension, separation from other students, and other sanctions. While parents of the accused are not present at meetings, officials bring them up to speed soon after, according to Leone.
He noted that some students are steered toward alternative learning programs - which vary from district to district - to meet their needs and protect the well-being of their peers.
As the middle school program moves forward, Leone wants to focus on cyber safety and bullying. In a statement, his office cited a 2005-2006 Globe analysis finding that 53 percent of all instances of school violence in the state occurred in middle schools, compared to 47 percent in high schools. Nationwide, 94 percent of all middle schools reported violent incidents in 2006, up from 87 percent in 2000, according to the US Department of Education.
To combat this trend, Leone has directed every participating school to assemble a Threat Assessment Team of staff members who can identify possible trouble spots.
Leone called the CBJ program - which operates at no additional cost to taxpayers, since law enforcement and school personnel meet during regular hours - a national standout among school safety initiatives.
“I don’t know of a single program that’s as comprehensive,” he said.
Cape Cod Times editorial - July 27, 2009
Ten years ago this month, Melissa Gosule, a vibrant 27-year-old school teacher, died a brutal death somewhere between a Cape Cod Canal parking lot and a Pembroke woods. Her murderer, Michael Gentile, from whom she had innocently accepted a ride because her car had broken down, had 27 felony convictions for which he had served less than two years behind bars.
Gentile was quickly found and convicted; he now serves a life sentence without possibility of parole. For 10 years, the Gosule family and state Rep. Bradford Hill, R-Ipswich, have tried to patch the gaps in the state’s habitual offender laws that allow predators like Gentile to continue their crime waves. (more…)
Boston Herald - July 17, 2009
The steadfast family of a Bay State teacher slain in cold blood by a career criminal a decade ago once again urged state legislators yesterday to pass a tough new three-strikes law they’ve championed in the years since her death.
At a press conference in the Garden of Peace, where a stone is laid in her memory, Melissa Gosule’s family called for the passage of “Melissa’s Bill” to assure harsher sentences for the most dangerous repeat offenders. (more…)
Boston Globe - July 15, 2009
Thirty-seven red, blue, and green balloons sailed across a clear sky above Beacon Hill yesterday afternoon, 10 of them representing the years that Melissa Gosule would have and should have lived.
The 27-year-old teacher from Jamaica Plain was raped and fatally stabbed in July 1999 by Michael P. Gentile, a man who had offered her a ride home when her car broke down on Cape Cod and who had been convicted of at least 20 previous violent crimes.
Yesterday marked another step in the Gosule family’s 10-year struggle to rally legislative support for Melissa’s Bill, which seeks to impose harsher penalties on habitual offenders like Gentile. (more…)
Boston Globe - June 19, 2009
The state’s highest court plans to review the constitutionality of a recently challenged state law that requires gun owners to lock their weapons, making it the first test in Massachusetts of a landmark US Supreme Court ruling that Americans have the constitutional right to own guns and stow them as they see fit.
The SJC decided to review the law less than a year after a Lowell District Court judge dismissed firearms charges against a Billerica man whose handicapped son was accused of shooting a BB gun at a neighbor and who then showed police officers where his father kept other unlocked weapons. (more…)
Boston Globe - June 5, 2009
MALDEN - Amanda Rogers saw only the glitz in Hollywood stars’ lives.
So when she heard media reports that the 19-year-old singer and songwriter Chris Brown had allegedly beaten his 20-year-old girlfriend, Rihanna, in a speeding vehicle, she was shocked.
“Celebrity couples are so glamorous,” she said at Malden High School yesterday, where she was viewing student-made films on teen relationship violence. “Even when they divorce, it’s usually because someone cheated on someone else. You never see the violent side of Hollywood.” (more…)
Boston Globe Editorial - May 7, 2009
MANDATORY MINIMUM sentences for nonviolent drug crimes don’t prompt offenders to clean up their acts. But they do pick the pockets of taxpayers, who cover the $47,000 annual cost of holding an inmate in state prison. Today, the Patrick administration is taking a sensible step to address this imbalance in the criminal justice system.
Boston Herald - May 7, 2009
Five days before her 15th birthday, Melanie Melanson went missing in the woods of Woburn two decades ago.
Yesterday, authorities offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to the discovery of the body of the Woburn high school freshman.
MetroWest Daily News - May 1, 2009
NATICK — Almost 200 girls went to the mall yesterday to pick up a few essentials: A shot of confidence and tips on dealing with bullies.
“It was pretty cool. It had pretty good advice,” said Mary Bethany Moody, an 11-year-old from Brookline who attended the afternoon session with Elizabeth, her Revolutionary Era American Girl doll.
“It was good. It was fun,” said Julianna Leone, 11, whose father, Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone was the afternoon’s guest speaker.
Woburn Advocate - April 30, 2009
Woburn, MA - Twenty-six high school students who may some day direct the workings of city government got to try their hand at it Tuesday with the help of those who already do.
Woburn’s 56th annual Student Government Day brought the students from Woburn Memorial High School to City Hall where they participated in a mock City Council Finance Committee meeting with their real-life counterparts. Acting as city department heads and sitting in the council chambers, they presented fiscal year 2010 budget requests to the committee for discussion.
MetroWest Daily News - April 2, 2009
WOBURN — The Middlesex District Attorney’s office announced a new initiative today where high school students will produce their own public service announcement videos about teen dating violence.
The new program is co-sponsored by the district attorney’s office, Middlesex Partnerships for Youth Inc., and REACH Beyond Domestic Violence.
MetroWest Daily News - March 21, 2009
A year ago, victims of domestic abuse seeking to file an extension on a restraining order had to hire a lawyer or face the judge and batterer alone.
Now, a program out of Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone’s office is helping provide legal assistance for free. (more…)
MetroWest Daily News - March 2, 2009
Now in the third year of his four-year term, Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone said he has made a start, at least, on the priorities he set when he ran for the office.
New initiatives to keep youths out of the criminal justice system and to reach out to minority communities in his district are some of his goals, in addition to the endless task of prosecuting cases.
(more…)
Bay Windows - Feb 5, 2009
At least two high-profile same-sex domestic violence incidents made headlines last year. In April Nicole Chuminski, 25, allegedly set fire to her girlfriend Anna Reisopoulos’ South Boston home, killing her two children, ages 14 and 2. In July Sandra Howes was arrested by police at gunpoint after allegedly beating her girlfriend while speeding down Route 93 in her Honda Civic. Yet while same-sex domestic violence incidents have made for splashy headlines in the mainstream press, the resources for victims of those incidents are few and far between.
To help remedy that situation Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone held a roundtable discussion on same-sex domestic violence at Waltham District Court Feb. 3, which drew a crowd of about 40 local police officers, domestic violence service providers, prosecutors and victim-witness advocates. (more…)
Daily News Tribune - February 4, 2009
WALTHAM — In a room filled with social workers, law enforcement and advocates, Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone yesterday stressed the need to draw attention to domestic violence in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.
According to Jane Doe Inc., one in four gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender people are battered by a partner at some point in their life. (more…)
Fitchburg Sentinel and Enterprise - January 16, 2009
TOWNSEND — Middlesex County District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr. is trying to expand the Community Based Justice program from high schools into middle schools.
Leone traveled to Townsend on Thursday morning to meet with school and police officials from Townsend, Ashby, Pepperell, Groton and Dunstable about the program, or CBJ.
The program brings together school and police officials, along with prosecutors from Leone’s office, to deal with juveniles in trouble, Leone said. (more…)
Beacon Villager - January 9, 2009
Maynard - Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone was at Maynard High School Wednesday to participate in the school’s monthly Community Based Justice (CBJ) meeting.
Established in the early 1990s by then-District Attorney Thomas Reilly, CBJ is a program that brings together school personnel, public safety officials and social service providers in order to identify who may be at risk for violent activity and help prevent such tendencies from developing.
Lowell Sun - December 29, 2008
LOWELL — After a two-week trial and two days of deliberations, Jerry Meas heard the jury’s verdict that would send the 24-year-old Lowell man to prison for the rest of his life.
Earlier this month, the Lowell Superior Court jury convicted the notorious gang member in the June 13, 2006, slaying of Bonla Dy, of Chelsea, outside a 7-Eleven convenience store on Chelmsford Street. The motivation behind the slaying? Dy was wearing red, a rival gang’s colors.
The conviction capped a strong, two-year record of Lowell homicide prosecutions by Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone — a conviction rate of 94 percent. (more…)
Boston Business Journal - November 20, 2008
The Middlesex District Attorney’s office is warning small businesses to be on the lookout for employee theft and embezzlement as the economy shifts into low gear.
Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone met with business leaders in the Malden Chamber of Commerce Wednesday to offer suggestions of how businesses can protect themselves. (more…)
The Boston Globe - October 22, 2008
She held a tissue and kept her voice steady as she sat in a Cambridge courtroom, where she was trying to persuade a judge to continue the restraining order against her husband.
But when his lawyer rose and repeatedly asked her the same question, forcing her to admit that her husband had financially supported her children, she burst into tears. (more…)
The Boston Globe - October 9, 2008
Crimes against senior citizens are on the rise, and officials in Middlesex County and state offices have started a special initiative to stem the tide of elder care abuse.
The Leaders in Elder Abuse Prevention, or LEAPS, initiative was launched Friday in Medford to bring together the agencies that handle cases of elderly abuse by caregivers. The hope is LEAPS will give senior citizens an easier way to prevent abuse and to report abuse when it does happen. (more…)
Exhibit A - October 7, 2008
Daniel J. Bennett still remembers the day he was late for a basketball game with Gerard T. Leone Jr., when the two were students at Harvard University.
Bennett, who admittedly took his time over lunch, returned to the dorm room he shared with Leone to find the future Middlesex County district attorney pacing. (more…)
The Woburn Advocate- October 1, 2008
Bullying – long a frustration for vulnerable kids, their parents and school officials – has taken a new turn, Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone said after a meeting at Woburn Memorial High School on Tuesday.
Leone met with school officials as part of his ongoing Community-Based Justice (CBJ) program, aimed at identifying at-risk students throughout the county and finding ways to deter them from crime and violence. (more…)
The Daily News Tribune - September 30, 2008
WALTHAM —
Forging strong bonds with kids and talking to them about their problems can help keep them out of trouble, said officials at yesterday’s conference on youth violence.
Preventing school violence was the focus of the 13th annual School Safety Summit at Bentley College attended by law enforcement personnel, educators and social workers from across Middlesex County. (more…)
The Boston Globe - August 3, 2008
Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr. entered office quietly, winning election in an uncontested race in 2006, after the five state lawmakers who were considering running for the position dropped out well in advance.
But this first term has been anything but quiet for Leone, a former Middlesex assistant district attorney, criminal chief for the state attorney general, and federal prosecutor and antiterrorism coordinator, whose office of 250 lawyers serves 54 cities and towns in the vast county and handles about 41,000 cases at any given time. (more…)
‘Career prosecutor’ is doing exactly what he wants to do
By Eric Moskowitz, Globe Staff | July 11, 2008
Prosecutors, especially those who yearn for higher office, have been known to flock to television cameras. But back when he was lead prosecutor in the murder trial of British au pair Louise Woodward, Gerard T. Leone Jr. let others address the media. Leone handled the opening argument, cross-examined Woodward, and convinced a jury in his closing that the 19-year-old was guilty of second-degree murder in the death of baby Matthew Eappen. But he ceded television time to fellow prosecutor Martha Coakley and District Attorney Thomas F. Reilly - partly because Leone wasn’t interested, partly because his wife had recently given birth and he preferred to get home to his family. (more…)
Boston Herald, Monday, June 2, 2008
By Joe Dwinel
Three husbands who prosecutors say murdered over money, sexual frustration and revenge all go on trial just days apart beginning today in Middlesex Superior Court.
Court workers in Woburn say they’ve never seen such sensational cases hit the docket simultaneously. (more…)
Lowell Sun, May 9, 2008
By Dennis Shaughnessey, dshaughnessey@lowellsun.com
TYNGSBORO — To the world, Rachel Scott is a tragic statistic: the first of 12 students and one teacher gunned down at Columbine High School nine years ago.
To Larry Scott, her uncle, she is so much more.
Rachel’s message of kindness and tolerance is the inspiration behind Rachel’s Challenge, a nonprofit, anti-violence program that is sprouting branches in high schools across the country. Using Rachel’s own writings, the nationwide program works to help students, parents and community leaders make changes to prevent more tragedies. (more…)
Cambridge Chronicle, May 1, 2008
Cambridge - Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone announced Wednesday that his office, in collaboration with Middlesex County school superintendents, has sent out letters seeking to help parents protect their children from the dangers of drinking and driving during this year’s prom and graduation season.
The joint letter, which is being distributed to parents of 12th graders in Middlesex County, outlines the troubling statistics regarding teenage drinking and driving and offers parents a number of proactive steps that they can take to help prevent their children and others from getting behind the wheel while impaired. (more…)
Boston Herald, April 16, 2008
By: Marie Szaniszlo
She was an assistant principal at a Boston-area high school three years ago when she discovered a MySpace.com page under her name - carrying her photograph and a series of disturbing messages from students.
“One said, ‘I want to kill her,’ ” said the woman, who asked that her name and her school’s be withheld. “It was shocking. As an administrator, you have to roll with the punches. But a number of kids who posted these messages were kids I’d thought I had excellent relationships with. You can’t say it doesn’t hurt.” (more…)
Newton TAB, April 8, 2008
By Kerri Roche/Daily News staff
NEWTON - If parents continually and effectively talk with their children, Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone said his job of prosecuting violent and sexual crimes throughout the county would be less demanding.
Appearing before Newton community leaders, guidance counselors and mental health professionals at Newton-Wellesley Hospital, Leone joined two renown doctors for Friday’s youth safety conference. One of the doctors has helped Leone successfully prosecute high-profile cases. (more…)
Somerville Journal - March 18, 2008
Boston - More than 1,000 middle and high school students and teachers from across New England, including students from East Somerville Community School, heard from Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone, Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley, and Anti-Defamation League (ADL) experts last Thursday at ADL’s A World of Difference Institute’s 14th Annual New England Youth Congress.
The students met to discuss the disturbing increase in bullying via the Internet, cell phones, and other modern technologies due in large part to the anonymity of these technologies. (more…)
Boston Globe Northwest - March 2, 2008
Starting tomorrow, all parents of newborns at Winchester Hospital will receive training on how to quiet their crying babies - and how to keep themselves from lashing out in ways that could damage babies’ brains or even kill them.
The hospital is the first in Middlesex County to adopt the training program on shaken baby syndrome. Melrose-Wakefield, Cambridge, and Newton-Wellesley hospitals plan to launch similar programs this spring. (more…)
Boston Herald Editorial - February 28, 2008
Lawmakers will meet today to discuss a slew of bills dealing with serial sex offenders - timely, given recent, stomach-turning events. But we mustn’t be lulled into believing that if we simply muster enough “aye” votes on Beacon Hill it will rid our society of sickos that repeatedly flout the law.
That isn’t to say some pending legislation isn’t worth a closer look. (more…)
Somerville Journal - February 15, 2008
Somerville - Somerville has not forgotten the explosive race riot of 1991 at the high school, resulting in the suspension of more than a dozen students and the emergence of a new approach to race relations a public safety.
Neither has Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone, who was an assistant district attorney when then-Mayor Michael Capuano and then-district attorney Tom Reilly started the Community Based Justice Program as a pilot in Somerville, Lowell and Malden in the 90s. (more…)
MetroWest Daily News - February 12, 2008
ASHLAND - Parents packed Ashland High School’s Ruthfield Theater last night for a forum sounding an alarm about apparently widespread alcohol and drug use and depression among the town’s students.
Organizers ran out of 150 pamphlets printed before the event began, with attendees filling most seats in the two-tiered room.
Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone described the “heartbreaking” consequences of adolescents using drugs and alcohol, and “friends killing friends” under the influence. (more…)
Boston Globe - February 12, 2008
Seeking to increase the public’s role in keeping dangerous sex offenders off the streets, officials today filed legislation that would give prosecutors the right to demand that a jury decide whether an offender is a sexually dangerous person.
Under state law, a person deemed sexually dangerous is civilly committed to the Massachusetts Treatment Center in Bridgewater for “one day to life.’’ The issue gained bitter prominence last week when a Level 3 sex offender was charged with raping a six-year-old boy in New Bedford’s downtown public library. (more…)
