Matt gets three years for sexual assaults
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POLSON — An 18-year-old male was given two 10-year sentences in the Department of Corrections with seven years suspended for two counts of sexual assault, both against minors. The sentences will run concurrently.
Cavey Matt was 17 at the time of the incidents. His convictions were part of a plea agreement based on amended charges. Matt was originally charged with sexual intercourse without consent with a six-year-old and inappropriately touching a four-year-old while he was babysitting the child, according to a court document.
Judge James A. Manley sentenced Matt on Feb. 22 and designated him a Tier I sex offender, the lowest of three levels, based on the Feb. 8 testimony of licensed clinical social worker Brenda Erdelyi, who had conducted a psycho-sexual evaluation of Matt. Tier I designations require that one register as a sex offender for 10 years, whereas Tier II are for 25 years.
Manley said the sentence provides punishment and the opportunity for rehabilitation. He recommended Matt be placed with the Missoula Assessment and Sanction Center (MASK), a comprehensive, community-based correctional program serving adult males. He could be placed in a “pre-release center” if the treatment he receives is successful.
Erdelyi said Matt has “off the chart” Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Under questioning from deputy county attorney Ben Anciaux, she said that risk assessments are clumsy and not very valid for juveniles.
Erdelyi said she met with Matt twice and noted he denied the allegations but gave different versions of what happened. She said there were allegations involving Matt with other children too.
Last week, Anciaux called Matt “predatory” and said the offenses involved two children from two different families.
MASK has an 80 percent success rate, Erdelyi said, but noted that only 40 percent of its attendees are accepted into a pre-release program.
She said that mixing low-risk offenders with high-risk offenders in prison increases the risk of a low-risk offender re-offending, which Manley referred to at sentencing.
Matt, who is the longest serving jail inmate in Lake County, was given credit for 280 days served.
