Changed man? Convicted serial rapist Thomas Duvall (pictured in an old mugshot) has been cleared for a conditional release by a three-judge panel in Minnesota – despite his diagnosis as a sexual sadist
A three-judge panel in Minnesota has approved the conditional release of a serial rapist convicted of brutally assaulting teenage girls in the 1970s and 1980s – but the state Department of Human Services said Tuesday that it would appeal the controversial ruling.
Thomas Ray Duvall, 62, has spent the past 30 years locked up for a series of rapes, the most heinous of which took place in 1987 when Duvall tied up a Brooklyn Park girl with an electrical cord and raped her repeatedly while hitting her with the handle of a hammer.
The judicial panel on Monday approved Duvall’s provisional discharge from the Minnesota Sex Offender Program, saying his progress in treatment outweighs his ‘fearful diagnosis’ as a sexual sadist, the Star Tribune reported.
At a hearing last April, therapists and others program staffers depicted Duvall as a reformed man who was contrite and ashamed of his violent history, and ready for a return to the community.
‘The things I’ve done to people and the actions and crimes I’ve committed, I’ve paved my own road to where I am today,’ an emotional Duvall said from the stand at the time, as KSTP reported. ‘I put myself here. I’m responsible.’
But Human Services Commissioner Emily Piper, who is in charge of the state’s sex offender program, said she will try to block his release.
Duvall, 62, has been undergoing treatment as part of the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (offices pictured above)
‘I, along with three testifying experts in this case, believe that Thomas Duvall poses an exceptional risk to public safety and should not be released into the community at this time,’ Piper said in a statement. ‘I disagree with the court’s decision to the contrary and will appeal this decision.’
Piper is not alone in her opposition to Duvall’s release. The sister of the 1987 rape and hammer attack survivor told the paper her family were ‘terrified’ by the prospect of Duvall regaining his freedom.
‘I am scared for my sister, and I am scared for all the teenage girls out there, that this man will do this to someone else,’ the woman said.
Duvall’s record includes three past convictions on sexual assault charges in cases involving teenage girls; each rape took place after he had been released from prison.
While undergoing treatment as part of the sex offender program, Duvall kept extensive ‘fantasy logs’ in which he described his violent thoughts about past victims and female body parts.
A forensic psychologist appointed by the state Supreme Courts panel testified last April that Duvall’s journal documenting his fantasies and failed lie detector tests demonstrated that he was still obsessed with sex and not ready for release into the community.
But the three-judge panel was persuaded by members of Duvall’s treatment team, who testified that he has shown significant progress.
Duvall dropped a previous attempt at partial freedom four years ago. While MSOP staffers had recommended his release, Attorney General Lori Swanson objected.
After Republican lawmakers also objected, Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton ordered his administration to oppose further releases until the program could be changed.
Under his proposed discharge plan, Duvall will live under intensive 24-hour supervision with GPS monitoring in a halfway house, and will not be allowed to leave unless accompanied by staff.
The US Supreme Court last October declined to hear a major challenge to the constitutionality of Minnesota’s civil commitment program for sex offenders. While a federal judge declared the program unconstitutional because few people in it had ever won release, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals overruled him.