Locked Up At 15, Sex Offender Calls His Treatment 'A Sham'
ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) - A federal trial over the constitutionality of Minnesota's sex offender program heard Thursday from a man who was a juvenile when he was locked up and was later sent into treatment.
Craig Bolte was 15 at the time of his offense. He's now 27 and calls his treatment a life sentence.
His testimony is crucial in proving the plaintiffs' claim that the state program is failing such young offenders.
Bolte served four years in a juvenile facility after sexually assaulting an 11-year-old female relative.
After completing his jail time, he was ruled still a danger and civilly committed to St. Peter's sex offender program.
"The expert opinions on these offenders are that they should not have been committed in the first place, and they should be released because their offenses are not in the same category as adult sex offenders," the plaintiffs' attorney, Dan Gustafson, said.
Bolte told the judge he quickly concluded his civil commitment would be a life sentence. Bolte said the programs at St. Peter and Moose Lake are broken, not designed to treat offenders for an eventual release.
"It didn't teach me anything relevant like they said they would," Bolte said. "It was a sham."
Bolte said the MSOP environment is counter-therapeutic and claimed his progress towards release was dealt setbacks for petty rule violations: things like sharing food with other patients, forgetting a canteen order or attending a religious service that Bolte didn't sign up for.
But during cross-examination, a state's attorney got Bolte to acknowledge his current therapist is among the best he's had. And he said he assaulted a guard who maced him.
Still, Bolte held firm, adding that "I do not believe Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP) treatment is helpful to me."
Several more plaintiffs will testify before the state begins presenting its defense of the program.
Judge Donovan Frank has extended the time to complete the trial through March 9.