Departmnet Of Justice Seeks To Commit Charles Dotson To Treatment

Dotson Will Be Tried Under State's Sexually Violent Person Statute 

MADISON - Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen announced today that the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a petition under the state's sexual predator law against a Dane County man.

The petition was filed on June 9, 2009, in Dane County Circuit Court and alleged that Charles Dotson (DOB 02/24/1970) is a sexually violent person and should be committed for treatment.  A probable cause hearing is scheduled for June 22, 2009, before Judge John Albert.

Chapter 980 of the Wisconsin Statutes relates to the control, care and treatment of sexually violent persons. 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 Services for control, care, and treatment until the person is no longer considered sexually violent.

According to the DOJ petition, Charles Dotson was convicted of 3 counts of Second Degree-Sexual Assault/Use of Force in Dane County in 1993, and was sentenced on Count 1: to 10 years and Count 3: to 2 years consecutive in the Wisconsin State Prison System; On Count 2, sentence was withheld and respondent was placed on 15 years probation.  On September 7, 2005, after respondent's probation on Count 2 was revoked, he was sentenced to 4 additional years in prison.  Dotson was scheduled for release from the Department of Corrections on June 16, 2009, but will be detained at a Department of Health Services facility awaiting trial.

The state's petition alleges that Dotson suffers from a mental condition that predisposes him to engage in acts of sexual violence.  The petition also alleges that Dotson is dangerous as his mental disorder makes it likely that he will engage in future acts of sexual violence.  A petition is only an allegation and a finding of probable cause only allows the state's case to move forward.  Dotson is legally presumed not to be a sexually violent person unless and until the state proves him to be a sexually violent person at a trial.

Assistant Attorney General Erik Peterson represents the state in this case.