Posted: 11/29/05
No appeal of Wieser decision
Sex offender to be released in January
By David Heiller
Argus news Editor
A former La Crescent man convicted of second degree criminal sexual conduct in 1995 will not be committed to a treatment center as a predatory offender.
Winona County will not appeal a judgeís decision made in September that ruled against a petition to commit Jon Patrick Wieser as a sexually dangerous person and a sexual psychopathic personality to the Minnesota Sex Offender Program.
ìAfter completely reviewing the file and the transcripts and in consultation with the attorney generalís office, there was just not any good faith basis for an appeal,î Winona County Assistant Attorney Tom Gort told The Argus on November 22. ìThere was nothing in the record that we could use to justify appealing the decision.î
Wieser, 28, pled guilty to second-degree criminal sexual assault 10 years ago after he admitted to engaging in multiple sexual acts with a boy in Houston County. A first-degree sexual assault charge was dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
He was sentenced to 21 months in jail, but the court stayed his sentence in exchange for 25 years of probation and released him to a sex offender treatment program.
On November 18, 2004, Houston County District Court Judge Robert Benson revoked Wieserís probation because of numerous probation violations and treatment failures over a 9-year period. Benson executed Wieserís 21-month prison sentence, and Wieser was taken to the St. Cloud prison.
In January, a Department of Corrections psychologist completed a predatory offender report on Wieser. A psychologist hired by the Winona County Attorneyís office to review Wieserís records recommended Wieser be committed.
The Minnesota Attorney Generalís office and Winona County then prepared a joint petition to commit Wieser as a sexually dangerous person and a sexual psychopathic personality to the Minnesota Sex Offender Program.
Wieser was released from St. Cloud on February 15 due to ìgood timeî sentencing guidelines and time already served in jail. He was sent to Minnesota Security Hospital in St. Peter pending the result of the petition.
Wieser was then returned to Lino Lakes prison on October 4, 2005. His projected release date is January 1, 2006, according to Liz McClung, DOC Communications Director. This is subject to change, based on behavior in prison.
Information on Wieser will be given to local law enforcement, but community-wide notification meetings will not be held because Wieser is not a level 3 sex offender.
Wieser admitted to molesting 20-25 victims prior to his arrest in 1995, the petition states. The majority of those victims were male children between ages 5-9.
The petition was heard in Winona County on June 8 and 9. Judge Jeffrey D. Thompson dismissed the Petition for Judicial Commitment in a ruling released on September 14. He wrote that there was a lack of ìclear and convincing evidenceî to commit Wieser as a Sexually Dangerous Person (SDP).
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