By HEATHER WELLS
Idaho Falls Post Register
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — Since Brad Stowell was released from prison and then jailed for violating parole, I’ve fielded several inquiries about why he wasn’t classified as a violent sexual predator.
Here’s what I know-after a little probing, of course.
Sexual predators can’t even be considered for that title unless they’re referred to the Sexual Offender Classification Board by their clinician, parole /probation officer or the Idaho Commission of Pardons and Parole.
And no such requests have been made of Stowell.
Even if they had, he wouldn’t automatically be slapped with the label, said Kathy Baird, who chairs the classification board.
She said members take several factors into account before doing that, including:
- Seriousness of the offense.
- Offense history.
- If it was a predatory offense.
- Characteristics of the offender.
- Characteristic of the victim.
- The relationship of the offender to the victim.
- The number of victims, and the number of times they were violated.
- If the crime included severe violence or extraordinary harm.
- If sexual deviancies were involved.
- History of rule violations, if any.
Only about 1 percent of pedophiles are reviewed.
Being tagged as a violent sexual predator doesn’t necessarily mean the offender caused a lot of physical injury during the abuse. The designation is mainly used to identify offenders who are at a high risk of committing another sex crime, Baird said.
Once the board classifies a pedophile as violent, he is required to follow the basic sex offender requirements, along with verifying his residence with law enforcement officials every 30 days.
Offenders are stuck with the label for a lifetime.
And if that’s not enough, their pictures and addresses are published in their local newspapers.
""It’s a pretty serious thing,"" Baird said. ""How they behave is a big part in it all.""
Background on the case
Brad Stowell pleaded guilty in 1997 to two felony counts of sexual abuse of a child under 16. He later admitted to molesting at least 24 Boy Scouts in eastern Idaho.
He initially spent 150 days in jail before being released on probation and was sent to prison in 2005 after failing a polygraph test. He later told his probation officer he’d been viewing Internet pornography and had been around young kids. He was released from the Idaho Correctional Center on June 2 after serving 31/2 years of a 14-year sentence.
On July 8, Stowell was jailed for allegedly owning a computer and not getting a job, both violated the terms of his parole.
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