IN THE MATTER CIVIL COMMITMENT OF J.K.B.

 

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE

APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION

SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY

APPELLATE DIVISION

DOCKET NO. A-6136-04T26136-04T2

IN THE MATTER OF THE

CIVIL COMMITMENT OF

J.K.B. SVP-166-01.

___________________________

 

Argued January 11, 2006 -Decided April 10, 2006

Before Judges Wefing and Fuentes.

On appeal from Superior Court of New Jersey,

Law Division, Essex County, SVP-166-01.

John Douard, Assistant Deputy Public Defender,

argued the cause for appellant (Yvonne Smith

Segars, Public Defender, attorney).

David A. DeCosta, Deputy Attorney General,

argued the cause for respondent (Peter C.

Harvey, Attorney General, attorney).

PER CURIAM

J.K.B. appeals from an order entered July 1, 2005, continuing his involuntary civil commitment as a sexually violent predator under the Sexually Violent Predator Act ("SVPA"), N.J.S.A. 30:4-27.24 to -27.38. J.K.B. was initially committed under the SVPA in May 2001. He has received the requisite review hearings. J.K.B. has exercised his right to appeal from orders entered in connection with such review hearings and on December 16, 2004, we issued a detailed unpublished opinion in which we affirmed an order of December 22, 2003, continuing his involuntary civil commitment. In re Civil Commitment of J.K.B. SVP 166-01, No. A-2366-03 (App. Div. Dec. 16, 2004). After reviewing the record in light of the contentions advanced on this subsequent appeal, we again affirm.

On June 1, 1987, J.K.B. entered a negotiated plea of guilty to two counts of endangering the welfare of a child and three counts of sexual assault. The remaining fourteen counts were dismissed. J.K.B. was sentenced to seven years at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center at Avenel. J.K.B. was released from Avenel in April of 1992. In 1998, J.K.B. was convicted of criminal sexual contact and endangering the welfare of a child and sentenced to five years in prison. In each of these instances, J.K.B.'s victims were young males. J.K.B. was committed pursuant to the SVPA and transferred to the Special Treatment Unit following completion of his term of imprisonment.

An involuntary civil commitment can follow service of a sentence, or other criminal disposition, when the offender "suffers from a mental abnormality or personality disorder that makes the person likely to engage in acts of sexual violence if not confined in a secure facility for control, care and treatment." N.J.S.A. 30:4-27.26. The State is required to prove a threat "to the health and safety of others because of the likelihood of his or her engaging in sexually violent acts . . . by demonstrating that the individual has serious difficulty in controlling sexually harmful behavior such that it is highly likely that he or she will not control his or her sexually violent behavior and will reoffend." In re Commitment of W.Z., 173 N.J. 109, 132 (2002). The court must address "his or her present serious difficulty with control over dangerous sexual behavior," and the State must establish, by clear and convincing evidence, that it is highly likely that the committee will re-offend. Id. at 132-34.

Four witnesses testified at the June 21, 2005, review hearing: Luis Zeiguer, M.D., and Eleni Marcantonis, Psy.D. for the State, and Charles Oglesby and Daniel Greenfield, M.D., for J.K.B. Drs. Zeiguer and Greenfield are both board-certified psychiatrists. Dr. Marcantonis is a psychologist, and Mr. Oglesby is a clinical supervisor at New Hope Behavioral Health Center, a substance abuse and mental health facility located in Irvington.

Dr. Zeiguer evaluated J.K.B. twice, in 2002 in connection with the then-scheduled review hearing and again in June 2005, immediately prior to the subject review hearing. Dr. Zeiguer diagnosed J.K.B. as suffering from paraphilia not otherwise specified and a severe personality disorder with antisocial and histrionic features; he also diagnosed J.K.B. as being narcissistic. Dr. Zeiguer noted that J.K.B. has a preference for young males who are below the age of consent and also has a significant drug and alcohol problem. Dr. Zeiguer testified that although J.K.B. had made progress in his treatment, that treatment had not reduced the risk of his re-offending. Dr. Zeiguer expressed the opinion that J.K.B. was "very, highly likely to re-offend" and that the only thing that would reduce the risk of his re-offending was external surveillance. [t 32, l 8].

Dr. Marcantonis was a member of the Treatment Progress Review Committee ("TPRC") and the author of its report. Dr. Marcantonis testified that the TPRC agreed that J.K.B. was appropriately placed in phase three of the STU's five-phase treatment program. The TPRC also agreed that J.K.B. required more time in phase three, particularly in light of his recent disclosure of the existence of a number of additional victims, whom he had not previously revealed.

Dr. Greenfield, on the other hand, testified that J.K.B. had made good progress in his treatment and based upon that and the fact that J.K.B. was then fifty-eight years old, he concluded that J.K.B. was not highly likely to re-offend. He recommended a conditional discharge program for J.K.B.

Mr. Oglesby testified that he had interviewed J.K.B. and deemed him an appropriate candidate for New Hope. Mr. Oglesby admitted that New Hope did not have, at that time, any specific treatment for sex offenders; he also stated that if released to participate in New Hope's programs, J.K.B. would live at a boarding house nearby to New Hope's facility.

The trial judge reviewed J.K.B.'s treatment records and the reports of the expert witnesses. He then placed on the record a comprehensive oral opinion in which he detailed his reasons for accepting the opinions proffered by Dr. Zeiguer and Dr. Marcantonis and rejecting that of Dr. Greenfield.

 
The scope of our review of an order such as this is "extremely narrow," and we must defer to the trial judge's determination unless the record "reveals a clear abuse of discretion." In re Commitment of J.P., 339 N.J. Super. 443, 459 (App. Div. 2001). See also In re Civil Commitment of V.A., 357 N.J. Super. 55, 63 (App. Div.), certif. denied, 177 N.J. 490 (2003). The record is more than sufficient to support J.K.B.'s continued commitment. We affirm, substantially for the reasons expressed by Judge Freedman in his oral opinion of July 1, 2005.

Affirmed.

(continued)

(continued)

5

A-6136-04T2

RECORD IMPOUNDED

April 10, 2006