Judge keeps rapist
off registry

The court rules that prosecutors
failed to show the man poses
a community threat

He was convicted of rape when he was 17, but you won't see his name among the 64 people listed on the state's Sex Offender Registry Web site.

The state tried putting his name on the list last month, but Circuit Judge Richard Perkins denied the request yesterday, saying prosecutors failed to prove that Clarence English, who served four years for his 1978 crime, is a danger to the community.

"This just goes to show you that it's not an automatic guarantee that these people are going to go on the Internet," Deputy Prosecutor Rowena Somerville said. "And the judges have vast discretion with respect to who they feel is dangerous and who is not."

Following his release in 1982, English committed more crimes, including drug possession, alcohol violations and contempt of court. In 1989 he fatally stabbed a man at a party and served 10 years in prison for manslaughter. In the 26 years since his rape conviction, Somerville said English has yet to undergo sex offender treatment.

English's attorney, Scott Collins, said there were no treatment programs when he was incarcerated for rape. But during his time in prison for manslaughter, he received anger management, substance abuse treatment and parenting classes. He has been a model citizen since his release, he said.

"He goes to church two to three times a week; he's a God-fearing man; he's a better father, husband, a better person all around as a result," he said.

And none of the crimes English committed following his rape conviction were sex offenses, Collins said. English was not in court yesterday and could not be reached for comment.

Since last July the state's four county prosecutors have been petitioning the courts to place information about convicted sex offenders on the registry's Web site. Names are added as offenders are released from prison.

English's case is one of five petitions by the city Prosecutor's Office that have been denied. His is the first for which the Prosecutor's Office sought reconsideration. Somerville said no decision has been made on whether the state will appeal Perkins' decision.

The state has to petition the courts because the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled in 2001 that placing personal information about convicted sex offenders online without a hearing is unconstitutional. The decision forced the state Criminal Justice Data Center to shut down the Sex Offender Registry Web site 15 months after it was launched.

In last November's elections, Hawaii voters approved a constitutional amendment letting the state Legislature define which crimes warrant placement of convicts' names on the Web site without court hearings.

One proposal moving in the state Senate (SB 708, SD 1) would do just that.