Despite a disturbing criminal past, friends and family believed Michael Lindsey had made significant strides in the decades he spent behind bars.

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1 Can Sex Offenders Be Cured? Michael Lindsey case raises questions about treatment By Alicia Gallegos Tribune Staff Writer Source: news Sunday,November 22, 2009 Edition: mich,, Page A1 SOUTH BEND Despite a disturbing criminal past, friends and family believed Michael Lindsey had made significant strides in the decades he spent behind bars. For more than 20 years, the man was a model prisoner, espousing deep religious beliefs, completing law courses and assisting other inmates with criminal cases. Upon his initial release, officials say the man complied with all parole regulations, fulfilled treatment requirements and was holding down a full-time job and adjusting well to married life. I thought if anybody in the world can make it on release, it would be Mike, said prison minister Tim Blakley, who has known Lindsey for almost 10 years. But just months after being allowed back into society, Lindsey did more than just violate his parole. He led authorities on a frenzied chase across county lines after three attempted abductions and one kidnapping. Perspectives differ on what led to Lindsey s breakdown and subsequent crime spree. Some believe he was never truly rehabilitated from his past sexual deviance and was a ticking time bomb.

2 But others, including Lindsey himself, say it was the overwhelming pressure to re-acclimate into society and a lack of preparation that fueled his failure. Debate also exists about whether the motivation for his latest offenses was sexual. Although not a segment of society for which most residents feel sympathy, the reality is that 10,000 to 20,000 sex offenders are released back into the general population each year, according to a report by the Center for Sex Offender Management, a U.S. Dept. of Justice project. Making sure sex offenders are prepared to enter society properly rehabilitated greatly reduces recidivism and enhances overall public safety, says the report. But experts argue about how prepared sex offenders are when the cell door opens and whether enough reentry programs are available. In the case of Michael Lindsey, a long-term prisoner with the darkest of pasts, the question becomes: Was his future doomed from the start? Low risk for re-offending Jan Lindsey met her husband in 2001 while he was incarcerated at the Correctional Industrial facility in Pendleton, Ind. The relationship started innocently when the two began writing letters, Jan Lindsey said during a recent phone interview. Jan was doing ministry work at the time, she said, and had been asked by a pastor whether she would correspond with several inmates, including Lindsey. Right away, she knew he was different, she said. He was extremely educated and positive, never asking the woman for money, as other inmates did. The letters continued for years until the friendship turned romantic. They married several years later at the prison. Jan knew about Lindsey s past. The now-48-year-old man was in prison for rape and child molesting out of Elkhart County and was completing a sentence of 50 years, of which he served half for good behavior. The two cases in which Lindsey was convicted involved a woman and a 13-year-old girl abducted at knifepoint. I knew what he did before was terrible, Jan Lindsey said. (But) that wasn t who he was anymore. Jan asked a prison psychologist about Lindsey and said the doctor told her he had shown true remorse for his actions and was considered low risk for re-offending. She believed him. So did Blakley, who also sent Lindsey letters and felt the man was 1 billion percent rehabilitated, he said. While in prison, Lindsey had taken therapy classes, his wife said. He also completed Sex Offender Management and Monitoring.

3 All sex offenders in the state must complete SOMM before being released, according to Adam Deming, psychologist and executive director of SOMM. The time and length of the program depends on the sex offender and his or her level of risk, says Deming, but much of the treatment focuses on cognitive behavior therapy, accountability, and formulating a relapse prevention plan. Individual Indiana prisons do not have the program available, but inmates are sent to the New Castle facility when treatment is deemed necessary and room is available. But even with the required prison programs, Jan Lindsey says, her husband was missing something when he was finally paroled in Changes in 25 years The world he entered upon his release was very different that the one he left 25 years earlier, Lindsey said in a shaking voice during his recent sentencing. At first, he felt he could adjust and do well, he said, but his confidence soon started to waiver. It really started to overwhelm me, he said during sentencing. I didn t know how to get gas, how to order food. I started wondering if I should even be out. Lindsey had hoped to find work as a paralegal when he was released, but he was not allowed. He also applied for several re-entry programs, he said, but was not accepted. Instead, he found work at a factory, working an exhausting third shift, says his wife. The couple also had housing issues, as Jan s home was not suitable for sex offender requirements, and the two had to move. Stress started to consume Lindsey, Blakley said, and he was not getting along well with his boss at work. But his marriage was thriving, Jan Lindsey said, adding that her husband was always good to her, making dinner and mowing the lawn. But Lindsey hated having to make so many decisions, she said. Life is so fast out here, Jan Lindsey says. It s so slow for them in there. How do you prepare someone for something like that? Before leaving prison, Lindsey did complete a re-entry component of SOMM. Prisoners are introduced to the re-entry aspect about nine months before release, according to Deming. The transitional program helps prisoners review possible housing and employment options as well as addresses parole stipulations they will face, Deming says. But aside from the nine-month re-entry program, few community transitional programs, halfway houses or community re-entry facilities even consider taking sex offenders. According to Greg Cress with South Bend Community Re-Entry, specific DOC criteria prevents sex offenders from being allowed into his program.

4 Traditionally, lower level offenders are eligible for the local re-entry program about nine months before release. The program addresses life skills, substance abuse and job readiness. A recent addition also now allows prisoners to attend 18 to 24 months before release. Some offenders need a little more time, Cress said. The longer you ve been institutionalized, the more difficulties you re going to have coming out. Cress says that at one time, sex offenders were allowed in the program, but that was 20 years ago. Because of the risk to the community, corrections officials generally want sex offenders to serve their entire sentences before being around civilians. At the St. Joseph County DuComb Center, it s possible to accept some types of sex offenders, but that doesn t happen frequently, says interim Program Manager Dave Nickerson. And Doug Huyvaert with the South Bend Parole Office says parole officers do not send sex offenders to community transitional programs. I do not know of any cases in my district, he said. Eight months later Treatment continued for Lindsey on the outside. He was going to weekly treatment sessions and receiving regular assessments, Huyvaert says, adding there were no red flags in his file until the day Lindsey missed a meeting. The date was Feb. 24. Lindsey had been out of prison just eight months. Later, Lindsey would insist that missing work the night before made him fear he would violate his parole. He says he was overwhelmed, and only wanted a vehicle to run away. He first confronted a Mishawaka woman with a screwdriver and demanded her car. She screamed, and Lindsey ran away. The man later abducted a 19-year-old woman at knifepoint and drove with her to White County, before leaving her in a field. Police later arrested Lindsey in Jasper County after a third abduction attempt. Authorities previously said Lindsey never physically or sexually harmed the 19-year-old woman, and charges to the contrary were never filed. But a deputy prosecutor said during sentencing that it was untrue that nothing of a sexual nature happened. The now-20-year-old woman said Lindsey straddled her at one point and forced her to take off her tights before changing his mind and letting her go. Lindsey admitted in court that he thought about doing something sexual, but then came to his senses.

5 Doesn t cure an illness St. Joseph County Superior Court Judge Jerome Frese sees hundreds of sex offense cases come through his courtroom each year and says the crimes can be some of the most heinous. Frese could not comment specifically on the Lindsey case but spoke generally about sex offenders and treatment resources while incarcerated. Frese spoke highly of the SOMM program but argued re-entry and treatment services should start early in prison time. The problem is that, ironically, they don t give it to someone until their release date, he said. What happens is that it s eight to 10 years before (a person) is allowed to qualify for that program. Deming, however, believes the program and services offered by the DOC gives inmates the necessary tools to succeed in society. The re-entry component of the SOMM program is highly effective, he says, adding that in three years, inmates who complete the program have shown only a 1 percent rate of returning to prison with a new sex crime. But Jan Lindsey wishes more had been done for her husband to prepare him for life in society. She does not believe his recent crimes were sexually motivated. At the very least, she believes, if Lindsey had had a mentor when released, it would have helped. The woman once envisioned growing old with her husband, she said, but knows now that can t happen. Lindsey pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 40 years in prison for the Mishawaka offenses and six more years in Jasper County. He remains at the St. Joseph County Jail awaiting transport to prison. Jan Lindsey said she has not yet filed for divorce but knows she must move on. Meanwhile, the family of his now-20-year-old victim says Lindsey should have never been back in society. That fact that he did what he did tells me he was not reformed, the victim s mother said. Her husband says he has compassion for Lindsey s sickness and that he has prayed for him, but he also holds much anger. I think he s a very sick person, the dad said. Putting someone away for 25 years doesn t cure an illness.