Post by Bouncer_Texxx on Mar 4, 2013 20:04:24 GMT -5
Former Storm player could clear record of sexual assault if probation fulfilled
www.argusleader.com/article/20130304/UPDATES/130304033/Former-Storm-player-could-clear-record-sexual-assault-probation-fulfilled
www.argusleader.com/article/20130304/UPDATES/130304033/Former-Storm-player-could-clear-record-sexual-assault-probation-fulfilled
A former Juvenile Detention Center employee and former Sioux Falls Storm player who had sex with a detainee will have a chance to clear his record under the terms of a sentence imposed today in Minnehaha County.
Lorenzo Brown Jr., 25, was given 180 days in jail for sexual acts between jail employees and staff and sexual exploitation of a minor for a sexual encounter with a 17-year-old girl last summer.
Brown also was granted a suspended imposition of sentence, which will wipe the crimes from his record if he complies with the terms of probation for four years. At that point, he would no longer be required to register as a sex offender.
A psychiatric evaluation put Brown’s risk for sexual violence at virtually zero, a key point cited by Judge Kathleen Caldwell in granting his request for a suspended imposition.
The evaluation said Brown’s behavior amounted not to predation, but to “counter-transference,” a term generally used to refer to therapists who identify too closely with their clients and become personally involved.
“I’m not going to approach this thing as though Mr. Brown is a pedophile,” Caldwell said.
Brown’s lawyer, Mike Butler, told Caldwell that the inappropriate interactions between Brown and the long-serving juvenile inmate began when she expressed a desire to commit suicide.
Prosecutor Bill Golden argued against the suspended imposition, saying Brown had taken advantage of the inmate and given the public a reason to question the safety of a facility where children are forced to be.
“One of the things the public has an absolute right to believe in is that if their child is picked up and detained, that it is a safe place. That they will be safe and that the people inside there are going to be good role models,” Golden said. “Most of the time, that’s what the JDC is, but all it takes is one person to come along and behave like this to damage that.”
The former staffer’s actions inspired a change in the law. A proposal from Attorney General Marty Jackley, endorsed by both houses of the legislature, made sexual acts between a jail employee and a minor detainee a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
The maximum sentence for Brown, under current law, would have been two years in prison.
Brown said he regrets his actions and that he hopes to learn from his mistakes, serve his sentence and work with underprivileged youth again in the future.
“I do realize the severity of what I’ve done, but it does not define me as a person,” Brown said.
Lorenzo Brown Jr., 25, was given 180 days in jail for sexual acts between jail employees and staff and sexual exploitation of a minor for a sexual encounter with a 17-year-old girl last summer.
Brown also was granted a suspended imposition of sentence, which will wipe the crimes from his record if he complies with the terms of probation for four years. At that point, he would no longer be required to register as a sex offender.
A psychiatric evaluation put Brown’s risk for sexual violence at virtually zero, a key point cited by Judge Kathleen Caldwell in granting his request for a suspended imposition.
The evaluation said Brown’s behavior amounted not to predation, but to “counter-transference,” a term generally used to refer to therapists who identify too closely with their clients and become personally involved.
“I’m not going to approach this thing as though Mr. Brown is a pedophile,” Caldwell said.
Brown’s lawyer, Mike Butler, told Caldwell that the inappropriate interactions between Brown and the long-serving juvenile inmate began when she expressed a desire to commit suicide.
Prosecutor Bill Golden argued against the suspended imposition, saying Brown had taken advantage of the inmate and given the public a reason to question the safety of a facility where children are forced to be.
“One of the things the public has an absolute right to believe in is that if their child is picked up and detained, that it is a safe place. That they will be safe and that the people inside there are going to be good role models,” Golden said. “Most of the time, that’s what the JDC is, but all it takes is one person to come along and behave like this to damage that.”
The former staffer’s actions inspired a change in the law. A proposal from Attorney General Marty Jackley, endorsed by both houses of the legislature, made sexual acts between a jail employee and a minor detainee a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
The maximum sentence for Brown, under current law, would have been two years in prison.
Brown said he regrets his actions and that he hopes to learn from his mistakes, serve his sentence and work with underprivileged youth again in the future.
“I do realize the severity of what I’ve done, but it does not define me as a person,” Brown said.