Published: November 05, 2009 10:58 pm      

Toughen parole standards for sex crimes

As the father of a young daughter, I must say I am a bit disturbed and shocked by the outcome of Brandon Rousey’s text messaging-for-sex case.

Having followed the case since I came to work at the Register, the facts of the case aren’t what shock me most. It’s not even that Madison Circuit Judge William G. Clouse granted him probation on Thursday.

What I find most disturbing is that if Clouse had not granted the defendant’s motion for probation, Rousey likely would have been free in another week anyway.

The state of Kentucky has decided that for non-violent offenses, a felon has to serve only 15 percent of a sentence to be eligible for parole.

On a one-year sentence, as Rousey received, that amounts to 55 days in custody. That means that as a state, we have all agreed that someone can use text messages to proposition our children for sex and only see the inside of a prison cell for fewer than two months.

That disgusts me.

As the justice reporter for the Register, I’ve spent a lot of time inside the courtrooms of Madison County, and I have respect for the work our judges do on a daily basis. I believe Judge Clouse is a thoughtful jurist who considers the gravity of his decisions before he makes them, and I don’t blame him for granting probation for Rousey. His hands were tied by a parole schedule that would have set Rousey free days later anyway.

Judge Clouse is to be commended for imposing a lengthy list of conditions for Rousey’s probation, including instituting a curfew and requiring him to be monitored by ankle bracelet.

However, I do question how effectively our state’s probation department can enforce the prohibition against Rousey using e-mail or text messages, particularly when his probation terms allow him to own a cellular phone.

When legislators created the state sex-offender registry, they recognized that sex offenses, especially crimes against children, are a special class of offense that should carry a greater penalty than other crimes. That’s why we restrict where sex offenders live and require them to register with law enforcement.

Why haven’t legislators taken the same steps when it comes to when those same offenders are set free from prison?



Brian Smith may be reached at bsmith@richmondregister.com or at 624-6694.