Posted on: Wednesday, March 2, 2005

Judge asked to reconsider rapist's omission from Web list

By Ken Kobayashi
Advertiser Courts Writer

In 1977, 17-year-old Clarence W.K. English raped a woman. He was released from prison after four years, but then committed misdemeanor drug and drinking violations before he fatally stabbed a man in 1989.

English was convicted of manslaughter and served a 10-year sentence.

But in the past five years, his lawyer says, English has led a law-abiding life, has the support of his family and works as a rancher.

In January, Circuit Judge Richard Perkins denied a request by prosecutors and ruled that English does not have to be listed on the state's public sex offender Web site. Although English was convicted of other crimes, Perkins ruled that he didn't commit any other sex offenses and isn't a threat to commit another one.

City prosecutors, however, cite the manslaughter conviction and say Hawai'i residents should have access to English's photo and other background information for the "protection of the public."

They asked Perkins to reconsider his ruling, and a hearing is set for today.

English's case reflects the ongoing debate on who among the state's 2,100 sex offenders should be on the Web site, under what conditions and for how long.

State lawmakers now are considering various proposals, including one that would automatically place sex offenders such as English on the public Web site for at least 10 to 40 years.

The public registry was created under Megan's Law, named after 7-year-old Megan Kanka, who was killed by a convicted pedophile living in her New Jersey neighborhood. The law mandates that sex offenders must register their names, work and home addresses, car and license plate numbers, recent photos of themselves and a summary of their sex offenses.

The state adopted Megan's Law in 1997 and set up the public Web site. But in 2001, the Hawai'i Supreme Court ruled that sex offenders should be given a chance to fight the public release of the information. The ruling shut down the Web site.

In trying to address the ruling, state lawmakers in 2003 passed the current statute giving offenders a chance to object.

In November, Hawai'i voters ratified a state constitutional amendment aimed at negating the high court's ruling. The amendment lets the state Legislature determine whether the offenders should get a hearing. That's what lawmakers are now considering.

But until any new legislation passes, city and Neighbor Island prosecutors must give each sex offender a chance to object to being placed on the public registry, a process that can take as long as four years.

City Deputy Prosecutor Rowena Sommerville said about 200 requests to put offenders online have been filed by prosecutors on O'ahu. About 65 have been granted and some are awaiting processing to be on the Web site; five were denied, and the rest are pending, she said.

As of last week, the Web site had photos and information on only a fraction — fewer than 65 — of the 2,100 offenders.

Requests to feature recently convicted sex offenders are all but automatically granted by judges since it's up to the offenders to establish under the law that they do not "represent a threat to the community." Cases involving older sex offenses are more problematic, however.

English's case, however, is the most objectionable, prosecutor Sommerville said.

English was convicted of first-degree rape of a 24-year-old woman in 1977, despite his contention that the sex was consensual. He and another man were accused of raping the woman in the back of a car.

After his release from prison, English got into more trouble with a series of misdemeanor drug convictions in the seven years before he was charged with murder in the death of Joseph Naehu, a 34-year-old federal firefighter who was stabbed outside a Wahiawa party in 1988.

English had been drinking and claimed self-defense. A jury found him guilty of a lesser manslaughter offense. He served his entire 10-year term.

English and his wife, Lisa, declined to comment for this report. But in an affidavit, English said that while in prison he attended classes that included work training, alcohol and narcotics cessation, Bible study and marriage counseling.

"I have also matured and can now appreciate the significance of my actions," he said.

His lawyer, Scott Collins, argued in papers submitted to Perkins for the hearing last month that putting his client's name and background on the Internet could "invite vigilante and hate type intrusions on (English's) privacy and personal life."

English's wife, who has known him for 20 years, has seen his transformation to a caring husband and family man who attends church regularly, Collins said. "I think in this case, he is definitely not a threat to the community," he said.

In asking the judge to reconsider his ruling, Sommerville said English never received sex offender treatment.

"He blames his criminal behavior on drugs and alcohol, and claims that he learned to cope with these issues in prison, but presented no concrete evidence of his treatment or its success," she said.

Sommerville argued that the absence of any other sex offenses does not mean English is not a threat. She said between his rape and manslaughter prison terms, English was convicted of having or drinking alcohol in a car, driving without a license, drinking in a public place, two drug counts and two counts of contempt of court.

"Five years without an arrest is simply not enough time on which to base the finding that (English) successfully rebutted (the presumption under the law that he poses a threat)," she said.

Reach Ken Kobayashi at 525-8030 or kkobayashi@honoluluadvertiser.com.