Marshall Clark Benassi - Repeat Sex Offender - Petitioned for Civil commitment

A petition has been filed seeking the indefinite civil commitment of a high-risk sex offender scheduled to be released from prison next month.

Senior Assistant Olmsted County Attorney Geoffrey Hjerleid says that Marshall Clark Benassi, 26, of Rochester, is a sexually dangerous person who is likely to engage in acts of harmful sexual conduct against others.

Benassi has been convicted twice for sexually assaulting females who were asleep, intoxicated or incapacitated. The first assault occurred when he was 17. He was sentenced in juvenile court under the state's extended juvenile jurisdiction statutes. That gives the juvenile court jurisdiction over a person until age 21. If a person violates conditions of a sentence, he can be given the adult prison term. In this case, Benassi ended up in prison after violating probation several times.

In March 2005 he was still under supervision for the 2000 sexual assault when he sexually assaulted another female while she was asleep. That incident was reported in January 2007. He was convicted of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct and sentenced on July 15, 2008, to three years in prison with credit for 552 days served.

The petition said Benassi has not successfully completed a sex offender program. He also has a significant history of chemical abuse, the petition said, and has twice failed chemical dependency treatment.

On April 22, the Minnesota Department of Corrections classified Benassi as a Level 3 sex offender, at the highest risk of re-offending. That was based on his history of sexual offending, including his offense while on probation and in out-patient sex offender treatment. He is to be released from prison Aug. 4. He will have completed the entire sentence for the 2000 sexual assault but will be on intensive supervised release for the 2005 sexual assault until 2019.

A preliminary probable cause hearing on the petition will be Thursday in Olmsted District Court.

"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte