Sole female sex offender's status now in federal judge's hands

A federal judge will likely decide in the coming weeks whether the only woman in the Minnesota Sex Offender Program should have more specialized treatment, and be housed in a facility without male sex offenders.

The woman known in the court proceedings as R.B. was committed to the Minnesota Security Hospital as a psychopathic personality in 1993. The security hospital treats people with dangerous psychological issues.

But R.B. sexually assaulted another patient at the security hospital. Deputy Minnesota Attorney General Nathan Brennaman told the court Wednesday R.B. was sent back to prison for five years. After spending more time in the security hospital, R.B. was transferred into the Minnesota Sex Offender Program, which has a separate unit on the security hospital's campus.

That was six years ago.

R.B., who is now in her late 40s, still lives in that unit in St. Peter with 22 other offenders, all men.

She has a guard with her at all times when she's out of her room. But attorney Dan Gustafson says that's not enough.

"We'd like to see her first taken out of a facility that houses only men. And we'd like to see a treatment program that is designed to treat both her non-sexual issues in terms of the trauma that she faced as a child. Her childhood [was] really horrific."

U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank and federal Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Keyes said they will have evidentiary hearings in about three weeks on R.B.'s treatment as well as the possible release of a male offender in the MSOP. Four court appointed experts who examined R.B. and the male offender are expected to testify.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services faces a federal class action lawsuit brought by the nearly 700 people in the Minnnesota Sex Offender Program. The suit charges that because the sex offenders are being held beyond their sentences with no clear path to release, the program is unconstitutional. DHS declined comment for this story.

As part of the suit, Gustafson is asking the court to move R.B. to another facility and reassess the way she's being treated. Right now, he says, she's being treated by therapists whose expertise is dealing with men.

Arguing for the state, Nathan Brennaman says DHS is researching other options, but no facilities are set up for R.B's needs.

According to court documents, DHS has reached out to an international expert on female sex offender treatment, directed changes to be made to R.B's treatment and is having her clinical supervisor and therapist visit with Shakopee women's prison officials who deal with female sex offenders.

But Gustafson is unhappy with the state's response.

"One of the arguments they make is that because she's the only woman in the program that its not feasible to have a separate facility or a separate treatment program. And our answer to that is you can't say it costs too much and you can't say it's too difficult," he said. "If you are going to take somebody's liberty away, you have to provide them the treatment and facilities that are required under the Constitution."