Constitutional rights of convicted rapist not violated, appeals court rules

12-29-2010 Missouri:

A convicted rapist’s self-inflicted “Catch 22” does not translate into a violation of his constitutional rights, the Missouri Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.

Frederick Spencer, a psychologist convicted of raping and sodomizing two of his patients, had refused to admit guilt as part of a prison sex offender treatment program. He claimed that as a result of his removal from the program, he was denied a chance at early parole or conditional release.

But the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination does not extend to Spencer, the court said.

A three-judge appellate panel ruled that requiring participants in the treatment program to admit their guilt for the sexual offenses for which they were convicted furthered the legitimate objective of rehabilitating sex offenders and reducing their recidivism risk.

“Multiple cases from other jurisdictions have held that sex offender treatment programs do not violate the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination, even though failure to complete the programs results in forfeiture of good-time credits or the opportunity for early release,” the court noted in its ruling.

A jury in St. Louis convicted Spencer, now 59, of sexually assaulting two of his patients in 1994 and 1995. In 1999, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison, according to Department of Corrections records.

He was twice afforded an opportunity to complete the sex offender treatment program, but each time he was terminated from the program for refusing to admit his guilt.

He filed legal action in 2009 seeking a declaration that the way the Missouri sex offender program was set up was unconstitutional. He also petitioned for his immediate release.

A Cole County judge dismissed the case and the appellate ruling upheld the judge’s decision. ..Source.. by Tony Rizzo