'I know how dangerous I am'- A Sex Offenders Story
Task force hears sex offender's story 'I know how dangerous I am' By SCOTT WILLIAMS swilliams@journalsentinel.com Posted: May 24, 2006 Waukesha - A convicted child molester offered a chilling account of life after prison Wednesday, telling a Waukesha County panel that he struggles every day to control destructive impulses. "I know how dangerous I am," said Gerald Hohnstein, who was sent to prison eight years ago for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. Although he was paroled four years ago, Hohnstein, 65, told a committee studying sex offenders that he still sometimes catches himself having bad thoughts when he sees a woman walking down the street. "I know what I did, and I know what I can do again," he said. "I'm on guard every day." Hohnstein provided his testimonial before an ad hoc committee that is working to determine whether Waukesha County is prepared to handle registered sex offenders who are released back into the community. A few weeks ago, the same group took the unusual step of touring a Waukesha rooming house for sex offenders. On Wednesday, members gathered in a county conference room for a rare opportunity to meet face to face with an offender. They also asked Hohnstein to return next month and help the group begin to prepare public policy recommendations. The committee includes a state probation official, psychologist, police chief and others, some of whom have voiced little sympathy for the plight of sex offenders. When Hohnstein referred to his criminal past as a "mistake," committee member Mary Brzycki jumped at the chance to correct him. "You call it a mistake, sir, but that isn't how I view that kind of crime," said Brzycki, a Town of Merton homeowner who was enlisted to represent typical county residents on the committee. Other members include former Waukesha Mayor Carol Lombardi, Hartland Police Chief Robert Rosch and Maura McMahon, a Waukesha County public defender, among others. The group was formed last summer by the Waukesha County Criminal Justice Collaborating Council, which analyzes a variety of local criminal justice issues. With state officials warning that more sex offenders would be released here soon, officials wanted to know whether the county was ready. Officials are eager to avoid the sort of public unrest that has developed in Milwaukee and other communities where registered sex offenders have been sent to live. Since 1997, sex offenders have been required to register with local law enforcement agencies after leaving prison, and police have been allowed to release their home addresses to the general public. Karl Held, a state probation official who is chairman of Waukesha County's ad hoc panel, told his colleagues Wednesday about a Waukesha group that has organized to oppose any release of sex offenders locally. Held said he met with organizers recently and tried explaining the state's process for returning offenders to their home communities under strict government supervision. Some in the group, he said, "pretty much didn't want to hear what I had to say." Hohnstein, who lives in Waukesha, was found guilty of felony sexual assault after a 14-year-old girl told police he had indecently touched her on several occasions. According to Waukesha County court records, when the victim objected to his touching, Hohnstein implored her, "Just let me have some fun." It was not his first sex crime. Court records show he was convicted in 1961 of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl when he was 20 years old. Hohnstein told the Waukesha County group Wednesday he was given probation for the first offense, adding that the relatively light punishment provided no incentive to control his behavior. After the later conviction, Hohnstein was sentenced to six years in prison. He was released about four years later, in March 2002. He lived in a Waukesha rooming house for a short time and then moved into another apartment. He objected initially to the ongoing state supervision, he said, but then he realized that the rigid rules were helping him, along with court-ordered counseling. Saying Waukesha County has a good system of managing and rehabilitating offenders, Hohnstein said he continued group counseling longer than required because he saw the benefit. "They want you to understand what you did, to accept what you did and admit it, so you don't do it again," he said. "You go there until you get it right." After about an hour, committee members thanked Hohnstein for his input and said goodbye. To which Lombardi added, "Good luck." http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=427402