Sex offender set for release to St. Paul, community meeting next week
The Minnesota Sex Offender Program is releasing a man who was civilly committed after serving prison time for criminal sexual conduct.
The St. Paul Police department said Oliver Lenell Dority, 50, will move to the 500 block of Ashland Avenue in the Summit-University neighborhood in about a week.
The department is holding a public meeting on Feb. 10 to notify neighbors.
Dority was sent to prison in 1995 after pleading guilty to criminal sexual conduct involving adult women. In 2009, a judge ordered him civilly committed to the state's sex offender program.
Create a More Connected Minnesota
MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.
Last month, a court granted Dority a provisional discharge.
The Department of Human Services says Dority will continue to be supervised closely and must comply with a long list of conditions including GPS monitoring.
Since 2012 three people have been provisionally discharged from the program.
More than 700 people civilly committed as sex offenders live in prison-like facilities in Moose Lake and St. Peter. In July, U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank declared the program unconstitutional. In October, Frank ordered risk assessments for everyone in MSOP.
Attorneys for the state filed a notice of appeal, arguing the program is constitutional. The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals put Frank's ruling on hold in December while it reviews of the case. Oral arguments are set for April 12 in St. Louis.
Also in January, a three-judge Minnesota Court of Appeals panel upheld another judicial panel's approval to provisionally discharge convicted rapist Christopher Coker from MSOP.
In the 1990s, Coker served prison time for forcing a 16-year-old runaway into prostitution after sexually assaulting her four times in 24 hours. Coker also raped two 15-year-olds, and a 17-year-old, according to court documents.
In a statement last week, Minnesota Human Services Commissioner Emily Johnson Piper said she is disappointed with the court's decision and said she's considering further appeals.
"Based on the review and recommendations of multiple experts, this client is not ready for provisional discharge into the community. I am looking at my options to appeal to the Supreme Court."
The public meeting on Dority's release is 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, 285 Dale St. N in St. Paul.