Convicted of Sex Crimes as a Man, Iowa AG Says Felon No Longer Threat to Society Now That He's Transgender
In an unusual move, the Iowa Attorney General's Office recently announced it would no longer seek prison time for a convicted sex offender because he now identifies as a woman.
The Des Moines Register reports Attorney General spokesman Lynn Hicks wouldn't comment on the reason for the dismissal other than to say "an offender's hormone levels are an important part of substantiating an offender's likelihood of recidivism."
In November, the Storm Lake Times reported that Joseph Matthew Smith, a 23-year-old convicted of molesting a fellow MCS student in 2014, was "undergoing medical treatment that is needed prior to (Smith) potentially undergoing gender reassignment surgery."
Smith received gender reassignment treatment over the past two years at Newton Correctional Facility and started using female pronouns. According to court documents, Smith has expressed a preference to identify as "Josie."
According to The Register, a preliminary report prepared by the state's expert, Dr. Jeffrey Davis, says Smith molested as many as 15 victims, ranging from ages 1 to 13, before being sentenced to prison in December 2015.
"The Iowa Sex Offender Registry shows Smith was convicted of 2nd-degree sexual abuse against a female victim in 2012, and lascivious acts with a child against a male victim in 2014," The Blaze reported. "The registry does not give the victim's ages; they are listed as children under the age of 13."
Davis's report found the likelihood of re-offending within five years of release exceeded 20% because victims were of both genders and because Smith was under age 25 and never had a long-term relationship.
However, the report was based upon Smith having the sex drive of a man.
Dr. Tracy Thomas, a forensic psychologist and former clinical director of the Civil Commitment Unit for Sexual Offenders, told The Register the statute that outlines civil commitment requires the state to "essentially prove an offender has a chance offending greater than 51% for the rest of his life." That becomes harder to prove when an offender significantly lowers his testosterone levels, which has a significantly higher impact on sex drive than estrogen.
"We don't believe we have evidence sufficient to prove Josie Smith has a significant chance of reoffending," Hicks said. "Smith will be subject to strict sex-offender reporting required of those who commit the crimes she did," Hicks said. "She'll be subject to supervision for the rest of her life."
