Sedalia officials question notion of jailing sex offenders

The City of Sedalia is weighing in with concerns regarding a proposal to house sexual predators at the Pettis County Jail.

Sedalia City Administrator Keith Riesberg sent a letter to the Pettis County Commission on Thursday on behalf of the City Council and Mayor Bob Wasson asking for a copy of the proposal, requesting public hearings and raising concerns. 

“Although we are not a direct party to the contract, we feel the proposal brought forward by Sheriff Bond could have a detrimental (e)ffect on the safety and welfare of our employees and our community,” Riesberg wrote in the letter.

Pettis County Sheriff Kevin Bond sent a message to the County Commission last week outlining his plan for jailing sex offenders while reminding the commission of its suggestion that he find more inmates for the county jail.

“While we appreciated the efforts to generate additional revenue ... we also share some of the same concerns the city has,” Pettis County Presiding Commissioner Rusty Kahrs said Thursday.

County officials are planning a listening session for an evening next week to gather public opinion on the matter, Kahrs said. He expected the commission would set a date for the session today.

Bond proposes to jail 20 to 30 sex offenders who have completed their prison terms but face civil proceedings in which they could be ordered confined for treatment as sexual predators. The jail could earn about $70 per prisoner per day under the state contract, which could potentially generate $650,000 to $800,000 a year.

“We want to know more about it, and we encourage a hasty decision not be made,” Wasson said by telephone Thursday afternoon.

Bond said when reached by telephone that he was not ready to comment on the city’s letter. He said he would need to review the letter, which the city did not originally send to him. The Democrat provided Bond a copy of the letter.

“Obviously, I’ve been kept out of the loop here,” he said. 

The city’s letter outlines four major concerns. City officials question whether the jail will be staffed adequately and properly to manage the sex offenders. They asked for assurance that the Police Department would not be called about problems at the jail.

“Within the past year, our officers were called to arrest an intoxicated individual from the lobby of the jail when there were two jailers and two deputy sheriffs present,” Riesberg wrote. “Although our department is willing to assist other departments in time of need, our staffing levels and call loads necessitate the need for an assurance that our officers will not be called to assist with problems that may arise from additional inmates.”

Susan Daniels, 1st Ward councilwoman, also cited the incident described in the letter as one reason she questions the jail’s adequacy to house the convicted sex predators.

“If they can’t handle four intoxicated young men on their property, how can they handle these sex predators?” she said when reached by phone for comment. 

Daniels also said she has heard of other incidents in which doors were not properly closed in the jail and prisoners were found unattended in the lobby and outside. Those instances may not have resulted in an inmate escape or major problem, but the occurrences call into question the jail’s security, she said.

“I don’t feel the security of the jail is adequate to handle (housing 20 to 30 sexual predators),” Daniels said.

Daniels said she is also worried about the sexual predators housed at the jail wanting to relocate here upon release. 

“A number of prisoners do develop an affinity for a community in which they’re incarcerated,” she said.

Sexual predators could make friends with other Pettis County prisoners or jail staff, Daniels said. They could also find Sedalia an attractive place to start fresh, she said.

Riesberg said city officials would like more information about what happens if a sexual predator, upon release, requests to remain in Sedalia. 

“Is there anything preventing them from saying, ‘I just want to stay here?’ ” he said.

Other questions raised in the letter include whether the additional inmates would place a burden or demand on Bothwell Regional Health Center and if visitation rights were granted, would friends of the predators be visiting Sedalia?

Kahrs said the commission is “moving cautiously and slow” on the potential contract.

“We’re certainly appreciative the city leaders chose to weigh in on this, and we hope the rest of the citizens follow their lead,” he said.