Bill Olson News Stories |
||||||
|
|
Published in The Spectator, the student newspaper of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire;
Thursday, December 13, 2001 Sex offender released in Eau Claire
David Zurcher, 50, was released Dec. 4, according to a university police e-mail sent to students. He was first convicted in 1989 for sexual assault of a child and attempts to entice a child for immoral purposes. The e-mail resulted from a public notification plan required by law because the Department of Corrections considers Zurcher to be a high risk for re-offending, said Larry Liegel, chief of the Eau Claire regional office of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. Zurcher's release was mandatory under state law, Liegel said. People sentenced before Dec. 31, 1999, must be released after serving two-thirds of their sentence. For felonies committed on or after that date, the Truth-in-Sentencing law requires offenders to serve the entire length of their sentence, according to the Wisconsin State Bar. Zurcher currently lives in transitional housing in Eau Claire at an undisclosed location away from the campus, the e-mail said. After 30 to 60 days, he will be placed in a permanent residence. As part of his high-risk status, Zurcher must undergo electronic monitoring and urine analysis, Liegel said. Zurcher is prohibited from using or buying alcohol, entering liquor establishments, being around children or attending any event on campus without approval. "Chances are we would not even give him permission, because he has no reason to be there," Liegel said. Zurcher also cannot enter into a dating relationship with an adult woman who has children, Liegel said. In the past, he has been known to try to make contact with women who are athletes, from a foreign country, or "cheerleader" types. Three UW-Eau Claire students were shown photos of Zurcher and asked to identify the man. Sophomores Nadia Yayitra, Rachael Kolseth and DeAnn Zier all said it was the convicted sex offender, but each said they probably could not identify him if they saw him in person. "He's just an average looking guy," Yayitra said. "I'd feel safer if he wasn't out," Kolseth said. All three students said they were not concerned enough about Zurcher to print out his photo and memorize it. But they said the state law that required Zurcher to be released into Eau Claire should be changed because it has a university.
State law requires offenders to be released into the communities where they were convicted, Liegel said. "If we put the sex offenders in communities where they were not known, we would be increasing the public risk," he said. When sex offenders are put in communities where they had not lived, they can remain more anonymous because no "previous citizenry" knows them. Zurcher is 6 feet tall, weighs about 220 pounds and has brown hair and blue eyes.
|
|||||
| ||||||
