EDWARD G. LEGER, )
vs. ) CASE NO. 81-2802
Respondent. )
Pursuant to notice, a formal hearing was held on December 16, 1981, at the Florida State Hospital, Chattahoochee, Florida.
For Petitioner: Edward G. LeGer, pro se
The issues presented by this case concern the question of whether the Respondent, State of Florida, Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, has exhausted all treatment for the Petitioner, Edward G. LeGer, through available sex offender programs administered by the Respondent. See Section 917.20, Florida Statutes (1977).
The Petitioner submitted a "Petition for Administrative Determination" to the State of Florida, Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services. The Petition was received by the Division of Administrative Hearings on November 9, 1981, as transmitted by the State of Florida, Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services. The Department had requested the Division to conduct a formal hearing in keeping with Subsection 120.57(1), Florida Statutes. The hearing was conducted on December 16, 1981.
In the course of the final hearing the Petitioner testified and offered as witnesses, Larry Carroll and James Thaddeus Rogers, participants in the sex offender program at Florida State Hospital in Chattahoochee, Florida. The Petitioner submitted two exhibits, composite in nature, which were admitted. Respondent called as witnesses, Robert Alcorn, Clinical Director for the Mentally Disordered Sex Offender Program at Florida State Hospital; Michael Pomeroy, Clinical Psychologist at Florida State Hospital and Connie Smith, Clinical Social Worker at Florida State Hospital. Respondent presented no exhibits.
At all times pertinent to this proceeding, Petitioner has been in the custody of the Respondent, in keeping with the orders of Court and the authority of Chapter 917, Florida Statutes (1977). During that time, the Petitioner has resided at the Florida State Hospital, Chattahoochee, Florida, where he has undergone treatment in the hospital program for the benefit of mentally disordered sex offenders. Although the Petitioner has been subjected to a full range of treatment opportunities, his progress in the recognition of and ability to deal with the underlying conditions which caused him to be placed in this program have reached their zenith. In the face of these circumstances, the Respondent has made a preliminary determination that it has exhausted treatment for the Petitioner, through the program in which he is enrolled. Additionally, it has been concluded that similar programs within the State of Florida do not offer other opportunities for progress. These opinions were made known to the Petitioner and when confronted with this information, the Petitioner requested the formal hearing which is the subject of this Recommended Order.
LeGer was committed to the custody of the Respondent on February 27, 1979, the Court having found him to be a mentally disordered sex offender within the meaning of Chapter 917, Florida Statutes (1977). He was received into the program at the Florida State Hospital in Chattahoochee, Florida, on April 23, 1979, and has undergone treatment beginning on that date. The objectives of the treatment program were to deal with LeGer's long standing sexual deviation, which specific condition is pedophilia and his associated difficulty with chronic alcoholism, until he no longer evidenced himself to be a menace to society in terms of sexual "acting out" or until it was concluded that he could no longer be treated for these difficulties. (The patient also had undergone treatment as a sex offender in the 1960's.)
The program at Florida State Hospital has as its central focus the utilization of group therapy with adjunctive programs in recreational and occupational therapy, and this treatment regime relies heavily on a patient's self-motivation.
Petitioner's Composite Exhibit No. 1 is constituted of a series of progress reports or clinical summaries of Petitioner's condition during the course of his treatment. As can be seen, the patient has made significant progress in dealing with his condition of alcoholism and his general conduct and demeanor has been exemplary; however, he has gained little insight into his sexual condition of pedophilia. This is borne out by the patient's beliefs that the staff session of September 16, 1981, in which he expressed his firm belief that he had reached maximum benefits from the treatment program and felt that he was no longer a risk to commit the sexual offenses, in that he was aware of the consequences of his deviant behavior for himself and others. This belief is erroneous, in that the staff report and the testimony given by staff members in the course of the hearing lead to the conclusion that the patient has not gained sufficient insight and understanding as to his deviant sexual behavior, sufficient to deter him from committing future sexual offenses.
Michael Pomeroy, the patient's primary therapist from May, 1980, through mid-January, 1981, by his testimony, established the fact that the Petitioner had never been open enough with Pomeroy for Pomeroy to gain an understanding about what the patient's underlying problems were. It was through the witness Pomeroy's review of the history of the case that Pomeroy learned of the patient's problems with alcoholism and pedophilia related to young females. Pomeroy correctly describes the patient's participation in the program to be superficial, with the exception of the alcoholic rehabilitation aspects of the treatment and care. In dealing with Pomeroy, the patient was evasive and his behavior evidenced a manipulative demeanor (con or criminal attitude). In dealing with the question of his sexual problem, the patient simply would tell Pomeroy that he, the patient, wanted treatment. Pomeroy found the patient to be of the persuasion that the patient did not feel that he had a problem other than alcoholism, which had been overcome, and having overcome the alcoholism, all other problems were taken care of. Pomeroy found LeGer to have no understanding of what caused him to do his sexual acting out or what to do about that acting out in the future. These attitudes by the patient continued through the time of the final hearing, according to Pomeroy.
In view of the lack of insight and no clear changes in attitude during the course of treatment and the resulting belief by the Petitioner that he does not have a problem of sexual deviance, Pomeroy's testimony establishes the fact that the Respondent is unable to treat the patient's pedophilia and the fact that his condition of pedophilia still presents a danger to society.
Connie Smith, the patient's therapist from January, 1981, to the present, identified the most recent analysis by the staff of the problems presented by the patient's clinical profile. Those problems are: (1) gaining insight and understanding into deviant sexual behavior; (2) defensiveness and evasiveness with regard to relating feedback about himself and events directly related to his sexual problems; (3) exploring his needs to be over attentive to the needs and problems of others; and (4) exploring his dependence on alcohol. In these areas, Smith has found that the patient has not progressed in dealing with his sexual deviation and tends to over exaggerate his progress in that area. LeGer tells the therapist that he will do what she wishes him to do to participate in the program; however, he does not believe that he needs the therapy. (This comports with the testimony which LeGer gave in the course of the hearing. Notwithstanding this belief, he stated that he wanted to stay six months more in the program and that he would have done better had the therapy been more intense. The witnesses Carroll and Rogers agreed with this latter remark by the Petitioner and also expressed a belief that the patient had successfully completed the program, opinions not supported by the other evidence and not accepted by this Hearing Officer.)
According to Smith, when LeGer has occasionally discussed the event which placed him in the program on this occasion, i.e., sexual battery on a minor female, he has discussed it in a superficial way and tended to place some blame on the victim.
Finally, Smith agrees with Pomeroy's perception that the patient does not have sufficient insight into his problem and continues to meet the definition of a sex offender within the meaning of Chapter 917, Florida Statutes, and will not make progress by additional stay in the program. These perceptions are well founded.
The Clinical Director of the Florida State Hospital Sex Offender Program, Robert H. Alcorn, presented the Petitioner's situation through a staffing conference of program officials in the other sex offender programs offered by the Respondent. This occurred on November 2, 1981, and it was the feeling of the other program officials that they would not be able to assist the Petitioner further, and in that sense, as in the situation at Florida State Hospital, had exhausted treatment for the Petitioner's underlying sexual deviance.
The Respondent has exhausted all appropriate treatment for the patient's sexual problem, but that treatment has not been totally successful and the patient continues to be a sexual menace and there is a likelihood that the patient would commit other sexual crimes.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
The Division of Administrative Hearings has jurisdiction over the subject matter and the parties to this action, in keeping with Section 917.20, Florida Statutes (1977).
The question of the proper disposition of the case of a mentally disordered sex offender, following the conclusion of his treatment in a mentally disordered sex offender program is a matter to be determined by the committing court; however, preliminary to that determination by the court, the Respondent must decide the issue of whether it has exhausted all appropriate treatment of this patient, in view of its belief that the treatment has been unsuccessful. See Section 917.20, Florida statutes (1977). This hearing was designed to address the question of exhaustion of treatment. See also Cummings v. State, 379 So.2d 989 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980)
The decision of exhaustion of treatment being one which substantially affected the interest of the Petitioner, he was entitled to a Section 120.57(1), Florida Statutes, hearing to resolve the question of exhaustion of treatment, and this administrative hearing was conducted in keeping with the terms and conditions set forth in Chapter 120, Florida Statutes.
After a full consideration of the facts found herein, it is concluded as a matter of law that the Respondent has exhausted all appropriate treatment for the Petitioner in the various sex offender programs administered by the Respondent.
That a final order be entered by the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services finding that it has exhausted all appropriate treatment for Edward G. LeGer in its sex offender programs and that said Edward G. LeGer be returned to the committing court for further disposition.
DONE and ENTERED this 13th day of January, 1982, in Tallahassee, Florida.
CHARLES C. ADAMS
Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 13th day of January, 1982.
Edward G. LeGer Florida State Hospital
