Prosecutor Fights Prison Release Of Repeat Sex Offender
MT. CLEMENS (WWJ) - A Macomb County Prosecutor will be in court Tuesday morning, asking a judge to shoot down the Parole Board's decision to release a sex offender whom he says will no doubt attack again.
Eric Smith said 57-year-old Paul Jobak presents a dangerous risk to the public and needs to stay in prison and serve his full sentence.
"The problem is they show him as high likelihood of re-offending, but they're still releasing him. That's the problem," said Smith.
Jobak pled guilty to second degree criminal sexual conduct in Oakland County Circuit Court in 1985. Police say he attacked and sexually assaulted a young woman at knife point in her driveway. Although he was sentenced to three to 15 years, Jobak was paroled after only serving four years.
Nine months after his parole, Jobak attacked and raped another young woman at her home in Warren. Police say Jobak repeatedly raped the woman and threatened to kill her. He pled guilty to three counts of first degree criminal sexual conduct in Macomb County Circuit Court in July 1991 and was sentenced to 20 to 45 years. The judge ordered that Jobak serve his sentence after completing his Oakland County prison sentence.
Smith said the two women Jobak was convicted of raping are too scared to appear at Tuesday's hearing.
"They didn't know him from Adam, so he just picked them out of a crowd. So, they don't want their face to be seen by him again after what he's done to them and I don't blame them one bit," he said.
Smith said documents from the Michigan Department of Corrections show that Jobak refused to participate in therapy while in prison. He said the MDOC documents also show that Jobak has a history of serious substance abuse and psychological problems and is considered a "high" sex offender risk.
Smith said that Jobak's own sister has written the judge to say Jobak has been threatening her from behind bars.
Smith believes the decision to release Jobak is strictly financial.
"The real reason is that they're trying to save money, and that's the bottom line and it's just the hand we've been dealt for many years now. When you see that their own internal testing shows him as a high risk of re-offending, from a man who has already raped twice, I can't understand the logic behind releasing him. This guy is what prisons were built for," said Smith.
The Department of Corrections has not returned calls for comment.
