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October 13, 2005
Child molester to spend year in institution
YORK, SC -- Child molester Kenneth Michael Outen will spend at least the next year in an institution for the state's most dangerous offenders after a civil court jury ruled Wednesday he is a sexually violent predator.
Unless Outen, 57, successfully completes sex offender treatment, he will never be freed, prosecutors said.
Charlotte's Outen has twice been convicted of abusing young girls he knew, with the most recent conviction in York County in 2001, when he was sentenced to eight years. If he wasn't confined Wednesday, Outen would have been released from prison under early release guidelines and not required to have any treatment.
In a seldom-used tactic, the S.C. Attorney General's Office sued to have Outen committed under a law enacted in 1998 that allows for state prosecutors to seek confinement of the most dangerous molesters. Jurors needed only about a half-hour to return the verdict after a two-day trial.
"Little girls," Curtis Pauling III, assistant attorney general, told the jury during closing arguments. "That's what he (Outen) wants. That's what he craves."
But Outen's lawyer, Al Haselden, argued the state had a chance to treat Outen while Outen was in prison but didn't. Haselden asked jurors to put aside their "hate" for molesters and set Outen free.
The state "has failed ugly, and it's not your job to take up the state's slack," Haselden said.
A state psychiatrist and a psychiatrist for Outen both testified Outen is pedophile but differed on whether Outen is likely to molest again. Dr. Pamela Crawford testified Tuesday that Outen is a threat to girls and needs confined treatment.
Dr. Thomas Martin, Outen's psychiatrist, told the jury Wednesday that Outen could be treated as an outpatient and would not be a danger to others if released. Further, Outen is less likely to commit another molestation because Outen knew the first two victims and had admitted what he did was "horrible," Martin said.
Pedophiles cannot be cured, Martin testified, comparing the disease to alcoholism.
"The best we can hope for is recovery," Martin said.
One of Martin's sex offender outpatient clients was recently arrested on another sex crime after the offender was released, testimony showed Wednesday.
David Stumbo, assistant attorney general, argued that in prison Outen hadn't had the opportunity to molest again. There is no guarantee Outen would not have access to girls when traveling past schools or parks if released.
"There could be little girls living in his neighborhood," Stumbo said.
Outen is the 98th inmate confined for treatment out of about 3,000 sex cases that have been screened by the state in seven years. He is the second York County molester this year to be sent to the institution.
Haselden argued during the trial that Outen had done his jail time for the criminal offense. However, the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed civil commitment of criminal defendants who are proven in civil courts to be a danger to the community or themselves, said Andrew Siegel, a University of South Carolina law school professor.
Posted by Nealus at October 13, 2005 06:47 PM
