Judge Denies Petition To Commit Weymouth Sex Offender

WEYMOUTH, MA — A petition to commit a Level 3 sex offender to a treatment center for 60 days has been denied by a superior court judge.

Last week, Judge Mark Gildea ruled that the petition from Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz to commit former Weymouth resident Richard Gardner is invalid because Gardner was imprisoned in Rhode Island at the time of the request. A 30-day stay has been granted to allow Cruz's office time to appeal, according to the Patriot Ledger.

Beth Stone, a spokeswoman for the DA's office, said they plan to appeal the decision to the state Supreme Judicial Court.

In 1989, Gardner was convicted of rape of a child with force, indecent assault and battery on a child 14 or younger, and rape and abuse of a child. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison. In Rhode Island, he was sentenced to 190 years in prison for indecent assault and battery on a child 14 or younger, but received a shorter sentence upon appeal in 1993.

On Oct. 6, the Weymouth Police Department notified residents that Gardner had moved to Chandler Street following a lengthy stay in prison. Two days later, Gardner received a court summons after entering a library in Quincy, violating a city ordinance that forbids sex offenders from entering schools, libraries, or daycare centers unless given written permission by the school administration, library administration, or daycare center owner. The appearance was a violation of his Rhode Island probation. He was extradited to Rhode Island and is serving a year for the violation.

He was involuntarily transferred from Rhode Island to Massachusetts with eight weeks left in his sentence. Cruz filed the petition shortly afterward. The Plymouth County District Attorney's office said last year that they didn't civilly commit Gardner at the time due to human error.

Gardner remains in custody and plans to live with his fiancee in Providence if he is released.

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Image via Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry