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Taste of freedom brief for county sex offender
Published Friday, December 28, 2007
Otter Tail Sheriff's Department
Peter George
Level three sex offender Peter Allen George’s taste of freedom was brief.
George, 51, was picked up Wednesday afternoon by the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Department on Interstate 94 near Moorhead.
He was served with civil commitment papers to the security hospital in St. Peter and is being held in the Otter Tail County Detention Center.
The Attorney General’s office is now handling the case and a hearing took place Thursday in Otter Tail County, according to the Otter Tail County Attorney’s office.
“The county attorney’s office has initiated the process to see if civil commitment is deemed appropriate,” said Aaron Rotering, the federal probation officer who was to monitor George after his release.
Otter Tail County Attorney David Hauser was unavailable for comment at press time.
Since he was being released from the Stutsman, N.D., County jail in North Dakota, the civil commitment had to be served in Minnesota. The Clay County sheriff’s Department assisted with the stop.
George was convicted in 2000 of being in possession of a controlled substance (a date rape drug) and of distributing it with the intent to commit a crime of violence. He used the drug to have sexual contact with an adult female and a 15-year-old female. The victims knew George.
George was slated to return to his home on County Highway 31 near Pelican Lake in Dunn Township. A public hearing about his release took place Dec. 19 in Dunn Township.
Comments
The Daily Journal is happy to host community conversations about news and life in Fergus Falls and the surrounding area. As hosts, we expect guests will show respect for each other. That means we don't threaten or defame each other, and we keep conversations free of personal attacks. Witty is great. Abusive is not. If you think a post violates these standards, don't escalate the situation. Instead, flag the comment to alert us. We'll take action if necessary. It's not hard. This should be a place where people want to read and contribute -- a place for spirited exchanges of opinion. So those who persist with racist, defamatory or abusive postings risk losing the privilege to post at all.Posted by Venti (anonymous) on December 28, 2007 at 1:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Another incredibly well written and very illumination article by the Daily Journal staff.
Perhaps it would have been useful to ask Mr. Rotering why Mr. George was picked up? What they are charging him with? Or perhaps even, why does the county think "civil commitment" is appropriate?
Two days after it happened and the only thing you could come up with for the story was "it happened."
Posted by earthtone (anonymous) on December 28, 2007 at 2:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Hey Venti and anyone else who is interested. I found information on the civil commitment process on the internet. This may give you some more information which may answer some of your general questions. http://www.ombudmhmr.state.mn.us/cctrc/s...
Posted by Venti (anonymous) on December 28, 2007 at 2:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
That is helpful, thanks. It's too bad they could not have included some of that information in the article. I guess I should not expect a DJ reporter to actually do some independant research.
Posted by OlSarg (anonymous) on December 28, 2007 at 8:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Something smells very rotten in this case.
Posted by kmiles (anonymous) on December 28, 2007 at 9:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Why is this in the news? As a graduate with a journalism degree, this is an embarrassment to the profession. What happened to the "who, what, where, when, why and how?" I guess if you've got a few, you must not need them all...
Posted by Kloob (anonymous) on December 29, 2007 at 12:30 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Check out this link. Finally a local author who shares our rural-community views. Yes, I am impersonating, so shoot me.
www.sharkshellfish.com
Posted by holdensmomma (anonymous) on December 29, 2007 at 2:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
They also said that in his pre-release interview that he threw up several red flags which then led MN authorities to go forward with the civil commitment. I don't believe ND has any such laws, the law in MN is fairly new itself.
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