DA seeks reversal of judge's decision on Lowell rapist
By Lisa Redmond, lredmond@lowellsun.com
LOWELL -- Concerned that a psychological report of Ralph W. Goodwin, a Level 3 sex offender, indicates that he is still "grappling'' with why he sexually abused a young boy, and noting that he doesn't have a plan to keep himself from reoffending, the Middlesex District Attorney's Office will ask a judge to reconsider her decision on allowing Goodwin to not wear a Global Positioning System device.
According to court documents, prosecutor Deborah Bercovich argues that as part of his 10-year conditions of probation, Goodwin must comply with the state Department of Mental Health directives to show he is actively working to decrease his own risk of offending.
"However," Bercovich writes, "documentation provided to the court from both the defendant and the Commonwealth paint a picture of an individual who, despite a finding that he is not a sexually dangerous person for commitment purposes, is grappling with issues relating to why he offended and does not have a relapse prevention plan.''
She argues that a GPS would provide a mechanism for the Probation Department to monitor Goodwin during the inevitable time periods when DMH and his probation officer are simply unable to supervise and monitor him.
Bercovich also asks that the judge consider "exclusion zones,'' including the victim's address and any schools, parks and playgrounds near Goodwin's home on Merrimack Street in Lowell.
And while the state's highest court ruled that the mandatory imposition of GPS monitoring bracelet on all sex offenders is punitive, Bercovich argues that the Supreme Judicial Court's decision allows judges, at their discretion, to impose the GPS on cases that warrant it.
"GPS monitoring of this defendant is a reasonable restriction and is intended to be preventative in nature,'' she wrote.
No date has been scheduled to hear the motion.
At a hearing last month, Lowell Superior Court Judge Kathe Tuttman refused to challenge an SJC ruling that only sex offenders whose crimes were committed after December 2006 will be required to wearing GPS devices while on probation. The 2006 date is significant because that's when a new statute went into effect requiring sex offenders to wear GPS devices so the Probation Department can monitor their whereabouts.
The SJC described the GPS devices as "punitive" and said they cannot be applied retroactively under the provisions of the U.S. and Massachusetts constitutions.
The Probation Department estimates the ruling will impact about 254 sex offenders statewide.
Goodwin, a Level 3 sex offender, was convicted in the 1990 kidnapping and rape of a 7-year-old Lowell boy. After Goodwin spent 19 years behind bars, a jury in June found he is no longer sexually dangerous. He is one of those impacted by the SJC's decision. Tutteman refused to impose a GPS device as a condition of Goodwin's 10-year probation.
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