Matter of Schweninger

520 N.W.2d 446, 1994 Minn. App. LEXIS 783, 1994 WL 425174
CourtCourt of Appeals of Minnesota
DecidedAugust 16, 1994
DocketCX-94-825
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 520 N.W.2d 446 (Matter of Schweninger) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Matter of Schweninger, 520 N.W.2d 446, 1994 Minn. App. LEXIS 783, 1994 WL 425174 (Mich. Ct. App. 1994).

Opinions

OPINION

PARKER, Judge.

After a hearing, appellant was indeterminately committed as a psychopathic personality. The security hospital filed a report, and a hearing on his indeterminate commitment was held. The trial court committed appellant to the Minnesota Security Hospital for an indeterminate period as a psychopathic personality. James Lee Schweninger appeals. We reverse.

FACTS

On October 2, 1990, appellant pleaded guilty to criminal sexual conduct in the first degree, second degree, and third degree, for incidents involving three juvenile male victims. M.H., age 13, told police appellant had performed oral sex on him at appellant’s home during the summer of 1989. W.J., age six, stated that at appellant’s home in the summer of 1989, appellant, while masturbating, had placed his penis in the victim’s mouth and ejaculated. M.L., age seven, reported appellant had touched him on the clothing covering his penis during the summer of 1989.

Appellant was scheduled for release from prison on July 20, 1993. A petition for his commitment as a psychopathic personality was filed on June 18,1993, and a hearing was held.

At the hearing, there was testimony as to whether appellant met the standards for commitment as a psychopathic personality. Appellant gave varying figures as to the number of boys he abused, but at the hearing he testified he had molested 17 children. Appellant gained access to the victims by bribing them, and the abuse involved mutual fondling, exposure and oral sex. Appellant sometimes wore pants with a hole in the crotch to facilitate the exposure.

[448]*448Dr. James Alsdurf, a psychologist, evaluated appellant in 1990 for a presentence psychological report after he pled guilty to the criminal sexual conduct charges. Dr. Als-durf diagnosed appellant as an entrenched pedophile with a 15-year history of varying sexually inappropriate behavior toward young boys. He recommended treatment at the security hospital. Dr. Alsdurf described appellant as exhibiting classic grooming behavior, rather than sadistic or aggressive behavior. He found it significant that appellant did not use violence. This lessened, he believed, but did not rule out the likelihood that he was a psychopathic personality.

Dr. Douglas Fox, a psychologist, diagnosed appellant as suffering from pedophilia, same sex. Dr. Fox described Schweninger: “[h]e exhibits impulsiveness of behavior and has a very high risk of reoffending sexually. He is not physically dangerous, but is very emotionally abusive. On the psychopathic personality continuum, he is on the mild side with regard to physical violence.”

Dr. Fox said he has never seen a person with a complete and utter lack of control over sexual impulses, as this would, he thought, require a person to offend at every opportunity, including in the courtroom. He described appellant as lacking control over his sexual impulses, although the majority of his offenses were planned and said that appellant needs intensive ongoing inpatient treatment at a secure facility for his sexual offenses.

Dr. Satterfield, the court-appointed examiner and a psychiatrist, also diagnosed appellant as suffering from pedophilia, same sex type, and mixed personality. She testified that appellant has exhibited impulsive behavior, and engaged in an habitual course of sexual misconduct; he has not engaged in overt violent behavior; because appellant has not been treated successfully, he is not in control of his impulses to be sexual with children, and has a very high risk of reof-fending.

Dr. Satterfield expressed the opinion that appellant needs treatment for his pedophilia and the security hospital was the only appropriate alternative available to meet his needs.

The trial court committed appellant to the Minnesota Security Hospital as a psychopathic personality. The hospital submitted a report and the review hearing was held.

Dr. Michael Farnsworth, the psychiatrist who is the clinical director for the sex offender program at the security hospital, testified at the review hearing and diagnosed appellant with pedophilia, same sex, and a personality disorder with strong schizoid or avoi-dant personality traits. He said appellant has engaged in plotting, planning, seduction, payments and coercive behavior, which is different from impulsive lack of control or an impulse disorder. He perceived pedophilia, however, as an ingrained behavior pattern with a high risk of reoccurrence without intervention and monitoring.

The trial court committed appellant to the Minnesota Security Hospital for an indeterminate period as a psychopathic personality. James Schweninger appeals, and we reverse.

ISSUE

Did the trial court clearly err in determining appellant met the standards for commitment as a psychopathic personality?

ANALYSIS

Minn.Stat. § 526.09 (1992) defines psychopathic personality as:

[t]he existence in any person of such conditions of emotional instability, or impulsiveness of behavior, or lack of customary standards of good judgment, or failure to appreciate the consequences of personal acts, or a combination of any such conditions, as to render such person irresponsible for personal conduct with regard to sexual matters and thereby dangerous to other persons.

The Minnesota Supreme Court limited the application of the psychopathic personality statute to include only those persons

who, by a habitual course of misconduct in sexual matters, have evidenced an utter lack of power to control their sexual impul-, ses and who, as a result, are likely to attack or otherwise inflict injury, loss, pain or other evil on the objects of their uncontrolled and uncontrollable desire.

[449]*449State ex rel. Pearson v. Probate Court of Ramsey County, 205 Minn. 545, 555, 287 N.W. 297, 302 (1989), aff'd, 309 U.S. 270, 60 S.Ct. 523, 84 L.Ed. 744 (1940). The Pearson court admonished against an overbroad interpretation of the statute:

It would not be reasonable to apply the provisions of the statute to every person guilty of sexual misconduct nor even to persons having strong sexual propensities. Such a definition would * * * make the act impracticable of enforcement and, perhaps, unconstitutional in its application.

Id.

“The psychopathic personality statute identifies a volitional dysfunction which grossly impairs judgment and behavior with respect to the sex drive.” In re Blodgett, 510 N.W.2d 910, 915 (Minn.1994), pet. for cert. filed (U.S. June 9, 1994) (No. 93-9493). In discussing the development of this concept, our Supreme Court said:

The psychopathic personality is sometimes equated with the medically recognized “anti-social personality disorder”; it is, however, limited to sexual assaultive behavior and excludes mere sexual promiscuity. It also excludes other forms of social delinquency. Whatever the explanation or label, the “psychopathic personality” is an identifiable and documentable violent sexually deviant condition or disorder. In applying the Pearson test, the court considers the nature and frequency of the sexual assaults, the

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Related

In Re Preston
629 N.W.2d 104 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2001)
Matter of Pirkl
531 N.W.2d 902 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 1995)
Matter of Schweninger
520 N.W.2d 446 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 1994)

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520 N.W.2d 446, 1994 Minn. App. LEXIS 783, 1994 WL 425174, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/matter-of-schweninger-minnctapp-1994.