By Gina Damron
Detroit Free Press
MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. — A convicted Macomb County sex offender, who was not given sex offender therapy while incarcerated but was required to receive therapy after being released, will remain in prison, after the Michigan Court of Appeals on Tuesday upheld a lower court ruling reversing his parole.
According to the opinion issued Tuesday, “the transfer of a condition of parole — the receipt of sex offender therapy — to a future contingent event during the prisoner’s release by administrative rule does not comply with the statutory requirement that a prisoner shall not be given liberty until there are reasonable assurances he will not become a menace to society or to the public safety.”
Craig Cehaich pleaded guilty in 2000 to five counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct after being accused of sexually assaulting his daughter. He was sentenced to serve 12-40 years in prison. Cehaich was granted parole last year after the Department of Corrections determined that he was at a low risk for re-offending. He was required to undergo therapy.
Corrections Department spokesman Russ Marlan said the department uses risk assessment tools to guide treatment and programming. Convicted sex offenders determined to be low risk are not given sex offender treatment in prison, while those considered moderate and high-risk are, Marlan said.
Cehaich was at a low risk for recidivism, he said. Marlan said the parole board considered several factors, including the the risk assessments, Cehaich’s release plan and his behavior in prison, before granting his release.
The Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office appealed Cehaich’s parole, which was reversed by the Macomb County Circuit Court. The appeals court’s review found that there was no indication of how and when the therapy would be completed or how Cehaich’s parole agent would ensure he received the proper therapy.
“The new policy invoked by the board transferred an unfulfilled burden of the Department of Corrections to defendant’s supervising agent without any procedure to ensure it would be completed on release,” the opinion said.
Marlan said the Corrections Department is reviewing the opinion.