STATE v. KEVIN
Judicial District of New Britain
Criminal; Whether Trial Court Abused its Discretion In Modifying
Conditions of Defendant's Probation to Include Sex Offender Evaluation and Any
Recommended Treatment. In 2005, the defendant entered into a plea
agreement and pleaded guilty to operating a motor vehicle under the influence
of intoxicating liquor or drugs. The trial court sentenced him to a
period of incarceration plus eighteen months of probation. In May of
2006, the defendant began serving that probationary period, and in July of
2006, the office of adult probation moved to modify the conditions of his
probation. The probation officer requested that the defendant be required
to participate in a sex offender evaluation and any recommended sex offender
treatment. This request was based on the probation officer's discovery
that the defendant was convicted of sexual assault in 1997, that he was on the
sex offender registry and that a parole board evaluation indicated that his
risk of recidivism for sexual assault was high and his level of dangerousness
was severe. At the hearing on the motion to modify, the probation
officer testified that it is the policy of the office of adult probation to
request that a probationer abide by sex offender conditions of probation when
the probationer has a prior sexual offense conviction and is still on the sex
offender registry. The probation officer further testified that he
believed that the added condition of probation was necessary because the use of
alcohol was a factor in the sexual assault case. The trial court granted
the motion, and the defendant appealed to the Appellate Court. On appeal,
he argued that the additional condition of probation requiring him to participate
in a sex offender evaluation and any recommended treatment was improper because
it was not related to his rehabilitation for the crime of operating under the
influence. The Appellate Court (102