Waukesha man petitions for release from sexual predator restrictions

By Laurel Walker of the Journal Sentinel

Waukesha - Dennis C. Marth, who in September 2007 was released to live in Waukesha with strict supervision under the state's sexual predator law, has asked a judge to free him from the law's restrictions.

A trial on Marth's petition is scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday before Waukesha County Circuit Judge William Domina.

Marth, 49, was imprisoned for the sexual assault of two boys, ages 4 and 5, nearly 25 years ago. As he approached his mandatory prison release date, prosecutors sought his commitment to secure inpatient treatment on the grounds that he was a sexually violent person, and a jury agreed in 2001.

Waukesha County Judge Kathryn Foster eventually allowed Marth to be released with supervision under the civil commitment order, and he has been living on Buena Vista Ave. near the courthouse since September 2007.

The supervision order included treatment services, electronic monitoring, satellite tracking, mandatory escorts outside his residence for the first year, face-to-face visits from a corrections agent and a list of four dozen rules he had to follow.

His release, the first in Waukesha County under the sexual predator law and one of 18 at the time statewide, prompted a public outcry and drew about 75 people to an informational meeting on his pending release. It also was a factor in prompting Waukesha's adoption of residency restrictions on sexual offenders.

State probation and parole agent Craig Harling said that Marth - who married in the past year and whose wife lives with him - is employed as a janitor. While escorts for trips outside his home stopped after the first year of his release, he is still subject to electronic monitoring and GPS tracking, Harling said.

Assistant District Attorney Susan Opper said both types of surveillance would end if Marth succeeds in getting released from the commitment order. However, Kimberly Knapp, supervised release program manager for the state Department of Health Services, said the decision on whether GPS can be applied to him will be decided by the Department of Corrections.

Marth is a life registrant on the state's sex offender registry and would be subject to its reporting requirements, state officials said.

Under the sexual predator law, Marth petitioned for release from his commitment order using a standard form that says he no longer has a mental disorder and he is "no longer 'more likely than not' to recommit an act of sexual violence."

Opper said, "We are opposed to the petition."

A member of the evaluation team at Sand Ridge Treatment Center is scheduled to testify Friday.

Knapp said that since 1995, 319 people have been committed to inpatient treatment as violent sexual predators. Of those, Marth and 80 others have been placed into communities on supervised release.

Knapp said 22 of the 81 people on supervised release have been granted discharges from their commitment orders so far. An additional 48 have been discharged directly from Sand Ridge into communities, and Knapp said state law requires that each of those be tracked by GPS.

Since 1995, 34 predators have had their supervised release privileges revoked because of violations, Knapp said.