For Immediate Release April 25, 2008                                   
Contact: Corey Welford/Jessica Venezia 781-897-8325

Lowell Man Declared Sexually Dangerous

WOBURN – Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone informed the public that a Lowell sex offender has been declared sexually dangerous by a jury and will be committed to a state facility for continued treatment.

Jose Pagan, 55, of Lowell, was ruled to be sexually dangerous by a Middlesex Superior Court jury on Thursday and committed for continued treatment at a state facility in Bridgewater. Pagan, who in January 2002 was convicted of one count of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, had been scheduled to be released after completing his six-to-eight year State Prison sentence.

“This defendant had a lengthy criminal history spanning over thirty years, including three separate sex offenses against young girls,” District Attorney Leone said. “We believe that Mr. Pagan had a high likelihood of re-offending against yet another vulnerable victim if he had been released back into our communities. We are pleased that a jury had a voice in this important process and determined that he should be committed for further treatment and not returned, unsupervised, back into our neighborhoods.”

Pagan had a criminal record that extended over thirty years and included three guilty findings for sex offenses against prepubescent girls, additional non-sex offenses, and two instances in which he escaped from a house of corrections.

Pagan had been determined to meet the statutory criteria to be declared sexually dangerous by two qualified examiners appointed by the Commonwealth. Pagan’s history on the Static 99, an actuarial tool developed to estimate the probability of sexual recidivism, was scored as a Level 6, or high, risk assessment.
           
Pagan’s criminal history includes three sex offenses against young children. In addition to his 2002 conviction, Pagan also pleaded guilty in 1980 to five counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, for which he received two years of committed time, and an additional five counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, for which he received a two-year suspended sentence. The victim of those offenses was an eight-year-old girl.

In 1985, in New York, Pagan was convicted of endangering the welfare of a child for which he was sentenced to two years probation. The victim was a four-year-old girl.

Pagan also had a lengthy history of non-sexual offenses – including guilty findings of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, larceny, and other drug offenses – with his first arrest occurring in 1969.

The sexually dangerous persons statute (SDP) is the process set up by the Legislature in which a District Attorney’s Office may, upon being informed that a convicted sex offender is nearing completion of his or her sentence, petition to have the offender tried to determine whether he or she is a sexually dangerous person. If the offender is determined to be dangerous, the defendant will be committed to the Massachusetts Treatment Center. When a DA’s office petitions the court, the offender is examined by at least two forensic psychologists plus one or more expert of his or her own choosing. Then, depending on the results of those examinations, a trial may be held.

The statute sets a high standard before the offender can be found sexually dangerous and committed to the treatment center, including that the offender be determined beyond a reasonable doubt to be “likely to engage in sexual offenses if not confined to a secure facility.” If found to be sexually dangerous and committed to the treatment center, the offender is then entitled to petition once each year for re-examination and a trial to determine whether he or she remains sexually dangerous.

The Commonwealth was notified on February 23, 2007 that Pagan was set to be released and filed a petition to have him declared sexually dangerous August 20, 2007.

Currently, the decision on whether to bypass a jury and go before a single judge is left solely to the convicted sex offender in SDP trials. In February, District Attorney Leone, in conjunction with State Senator Steven Baddour, State Representative Charles Murphy, and Jane Doe, Inc., announced legislation that would reform that process and give the Commonwealth’s prosecutors equal power in deciding whether an SDP case would be heard before a judge or a jury.

That bill currently is before both the House and Senate Judiciary Committees.

“We believe this bill is a concrete step that would empower members of communities, through juries, with a greater voice in determining whether convicted sex offenders should be allowed back into their neighborhoods,” District Attorney Leone said. “In this trial, a jury was given that power and, with their verdict, their voice was heard loud and clear.”

Since 2007, when District Attorney Leone took office, there have been twelve SDP trials in Middlesex County. Of the seven SDP jury trials, all seven defendants have been found to be sexually dangerous (100%). Of the five SDP jury-waived trials, two defendants have been found to be sexually dangerous (40%).

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald. The paralegal was Adam Lewis.  The victim witness advocate was Jill Feeney.

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