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   “The giant object of the ISR (intensive supervised release) is public safety   
   and to successfully integrate the offender into the community. Mr. Patterson   
   will be meeting with myself, fellow agents and people with DHS to hopefully   
   collaborate and,    
   effort by all of us, to hopefully help him successfully reintegrate into   
   society. And like Brad had already stated he has been in the community for   
   close to 3 1/2 years ... this isn’t Day One for him coming out of prison.   
   He’s been in compliance.”   
      
   Patterson will be wearing a GPS monitoring device and is only allowed to go   
   out of the residence at certain times and the times are limited. Every   
   morning, Patterson has to call his agent and give them a detailed schedule of   
   what his plans are for the    
   day.   
      
   “You have to earn the free time you have, you just don’t get it   
   automatically and get to leave your house whenever you want. You don’t have   
   to go fishing with your buddies or go to the movies whenever you please,”   
   Welle said. “It’s based on ..   
   . your adjustment in the community.”   
      
   Vandervegt said awareness and education is key. If someone sees Patterson   
   doing something suspicious or something he shouldn’t be doing, they should   
   call 911 or leave a voicemail for one of the supervised agents at 320-223-7967.   
      
   “If you see him, and the hair on the back of your neck stands up and you   
   have concern for someone’s safety or welfare who you believe that he may be   
   up to some imminent harm, I want you to call 911,” Vandervegt said. “Your   
   best and most direct    
   resource for you is your local law enforcement and the Crow Wing County   
   Sheriff’s Office is no stranger to this population as you heard (Galles)   
   talk about. They’ve been monitoring this population of folks for a very long   
   time and they are good at    
   what they do ... and they’d be happy to assist you and get more of your   
   questions answered.”   
      
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   Since July 1, 1991, predatory offenders in Minnesota have been required to   
   register their addresses with local law enforcement agencies, who then forward   
   the information to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which   
   maintains a database that    
   can be used by the law enforcement agencies, the DOC states on its website.   
      
   Risk levels are assigned to predatory offenders when they are released from   
   prison. The level is based on their prior offense history, the seriousness of   
   their crime and more. There are three levels of predatory offenders — 1, 2,   
   3 — and a level 3    
   predatory offender is considered by the DOC most likely to reoffend.   
      
   As of Jan. 1, there were 18,727 people required to register in Minnesota as   
   predatory offenders with 56% as level 1 offenders; 29% as level 2 and 15% as   
   level 3.   
      
   Numbers locally include:   
      
   202 predatory offenders in Crow Wing County, including seven level 3 offenders.   
      
   133 predatory offenders in Cass County, with six level 3 offenders.   
      
   97 predatory offenders in Morrison County, with five level 3 offenders.   
      
   55 predatory offenders in Aitkin County, with no level 3 offenders.   
      
   105 predatory offenders in Mille Lacs County, with no level 3 offenders.   
      
   Vandervegt asked people to keep in mind that all sex offenders are predatory   
   offenders but not all predatory offenders may be sex offenders.   
      
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   Heidi Fairchild, a victim advocate at Sexual Assault Services in Brainerd,   
   said the reality is that every 73 seconds in America somebody is sexually   
   assaulted. And every nine minutes, that victim is a child. Fairchild said they   
   get their numbers from    
   assaults that are reported.   
      
   “The reality again is that 20%, or less than 20% of sexual assaults are   
   reported,” she said. “And out of those reported which are children, 93%   
   know who their perpetrator is. And with adults, eight out of 10 know who the   
   perpetrator is, or it is    
   some acquaintance.   
      
   “Stranger sexual assault is very rare. And I know we do these community   
   meetings and people are really worried about this perpetrator — this level   
   three. And I don’t want to say it’s a blessing, but we do talk about that   
   because we have a face.    
   And he’s a known sex offender. Most sex offenders we don’t know who they   
   are. So, the one who asked, ‘I’m a woman and I’m afraid and how do I   
   protect myself?’ ... Be educated and know what the statistics are and having   
   safety plans and even    
   talking and working with your children, is very, very important.   
      
   “The best thing you can do is know, statistically, what, happens in sexual   
   assaults and who the perpetrators are. And it starts young, and it needs to be   
   age appropriate with what we teach our children, our grandchildren, and even   
   in our schools. So    
   the best things that we can do to be safe is to be educated.”   
      
   Fairchild said out of 1,000 perpetrators, five will end up in prison — and   
   that is just the number of assaults reported.   
      
   Fairchild added that in Crow Wing County, Sexual Assault Services averages   
   about 300-400 new sexual assault cases a year.   
      
   Questions from virtual audience   
   Galles fielded questions with people using the chat box to ask.   
      
   Sarah Simpson asked several questions, including if Patterson was able to go   
   for walks independently; if he has someone with him when he goes to the   
   grocery store or any public place; and she asked about children and teenage   
   girls who get dropped off on    
   the bus as their parents work.   
      
   Galles said this could be a situation where the parent could talk to the bus   
   driver and the school noting a level 3 offender lives in the area. Cellphones   
   also are good safety devices for children to contact their parents or a   
   trusted adult.   
      
   “Call your law enforcement if you have any concerns,” Galles said. “Talk   
   to your kids about the safety measures they can take when they are walking   
   down the street and a stranger approaches them. ... be vigilant as that’s   
   your best step.”   
      
   Another resident named Randy asked if people would be notified when the GPS   
   monitor comes off Patterson. The answer was no, as it is not public data.   
   Marsha Kramer asked if Patterson has employment in the area and how she could   
   protect herself.   
      
   Another resident asked if Patterson knows the people he is living with and if   
   they are DOC employees. The answer was he does not know the people in the home.   
      
   A staff member said the program Patterson will be a part of is run by a direct   
   care and treatment agency from the Minnesota Department of Human Services. It   
   is a home that has been in the community for more than 20 years. The staff   
   member said Patterson    
   would be monitored by two staff members morning and night. The home has an   
   alarm system on all the doors and windows that alerts staff if he would try to   
   take off.   
      
   The staff member said she could not give people all the information that would   
   “make them feel better,” but said “we assure you, we’ve been doing   
   this a long time and we want to be good neighbors and keep everyone safe.”   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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