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Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen Announces Chapter 980 Commitment of Miller To Treatment
MADISON - Attorney General J. B. Van Hollen announced today that Thomas Chester Miller, 24, has been committed as a sexually violent person upon a jury's verdict at the conclusion of a three day trial in Columbia County. The Hon. Alan White, a Columbia County Circuit Court Judge, presided over the trial.
According to the Department of Justice petition, Miller was convicted in Lincoln County Circuit Court of 2nd Degree Sexual Assault of a Child on January 12, 2004. The petition also identifies additional previous acts of sexually violent offenses.
Under Wisconsin law, a person may be subject to a civil commitment when the person has been convicted of a sexually violent offense, has a mental disorder, and is dangerous to others because the mental disorder makes it likely he or she will commit further acts of sexual violence. A civil commitment is defined in Wisconsin law as commitment to the custody and care of the Department of Health and Family Services for control, care and treatment until the person is no longer considered sexually violent.
Miller was scheduled to be released from Racine Correctional Institution on December 4, 2005, from his sentence imposed on the 2004 conviction, when the Wisconsin Department of Justice petitioned to have him civilly committed as a sexual predator under chapter 980 of the Wisconsin Statutes. The state argued that Miller suffers from mental disorders, including Antisocial Personality Disorder and Paraphilia Not Otherwise Specified, which make it more likely than not that Miller will engage in acts of sexual violence in the future.
As a result of the verdict, Miller will be committed to the state Department of Health and Family Services for control, care and treatment until such time as he is no longer a sexually violent person. During this period, Miller will be placed at a secure treatment facility.
Assistant Attorney General Donald V. Latorraca prosecuted the case for the Wisconsin Department of Justice
