Pedophile moving to Wenonah neighborhood

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Clarence J. Opheim molested 29 children, has been in treatment for 20 years

by Tesha M. Christensen

A renowned Level III sex offender is moving into the Wenonah neighborhood.

In March 2012, Clarence Joseph Opheim, 65, became the first person in the state to be released from the St. Peter hospital sex offender program. He has been living in temporary housing at Damascus Way in Golden Valley since then. Police have had no contact with Opheim there, nor have they received any phone calls about him.

Soon, Opheim will be residing in a staffed group home on Sander Dr. in the Wenonah neighborhood. The non-secure building is owned by Onkin Properties, and is operated by the Zumbro House, a program that supplies residential services for individuals needing intensive behavioral supports.

Opheim will become the fifth level III sex offender living in the 55417 zip code.

The group home is staffed 24 hours a day. Opheim will not be allowed to leave without a staff member supervising him. He will have limited internet access, and is not allowed to own a cell phone.

The Department Of Health and Human Services will supervise Opheim’s day-to-day activities and have regular face-to-face contact. His movements will be managed and monitored, and he will wear a GPS tracking unit. Transportation will be supplied as needed.

Speaking to a child or drinking alcohol violates the conditions of his release.

OPHEIM’S CRIMINAL HISTORY

Opheim spent 20 years at St. Peter. He is a sex offender who molested 29 children in the 1970s and ’80s.

According to a state document from 2011 detailing why he had been denied discharge, Opheim gained the trust of kids in his Northeast Minneapolis neighborhood by being the “neighborhood nice guy,” offering them candy and soda. His other victims were children of women he befriended in bars. There is no record of stranger-to-stranger sexual contact.

Opheim often initiated conversation with his victims that led to secluded contact at other locations, including his home.

His record indicates sex offenses against predominantly male children ranging in age from 8 to 17 years old; however, his victims also included female children. Some of these offenses involved physical harm, threats of bodily harm, the use of weapons, and the use of alcohol. In at least one instance, Opheim paid a boy between $10 and $50 for each incident to keep his mouth shut.

In addition, Opheim committed a number of non-sexual crimes that included: two counts of burglary, petty theft, aggravated criminal damage to property, aggravated forgery, criminal damage to property, breach of peace, assault, and second degree assault. During one occasion when he was 15 years old, Opheim was involved in a scuffle with his brother and friends. A knife ended up in his brother’s back, and Opheim was charged with assault.

Opheim struggles with chemical dependence, specifically with alcohol. He completed a chemical dependency treatment program in the early 1990s and remains active in Alcoholics Anonymous.

NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING HELD

A meeting regarding Opheim was held on Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012 at Crosstown Covenant Church.

About 25 people attended, which is a much lower attendance rate than at the first Level III Sex Offender meeting held about a decade ago. Nokomis East Neighborhood Association Associate Director Doug Walter recalled that over 200 people had attended that earlier meeting at Keewaydin School regarding another sex offender. But over the years, as more sex offenders have come and gone, attendance has dropped at the community notification meetings.

The home Opheim will be residing at is now owned by Chris Onkin of Onkin Properties. “This particular program is better for the neighborhood than the tenants who lived in the building before,” noted Walter. “People are probably safer in the neighborhood now.” Because of the drug use and crime there, NENA had focused on cleaning the area up.

However, Walter is concerned about what the future might hold. The state faces a federal lawsuit by several offenders who argue that the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP) subjects them to illegal indefinite detention. If the state conducts a makeover of its program and begins releasing sex offenders, Walter is worried that more will be housed at Onkin’s two properties on Sander Dr. Onkin is also working to purchase another property nearby on 33rd.

NENA has been assured by officials that they won’t “saturate” the area. “But I don’t know exactly what that mean,” said Walter. “Even two sex offenders in this area will be a lot.”

It costs the state $120,000 a year to house each of its 600 sex offenders at the high-security St. Peter and Moose Lake facilities.

ALL SEX OFFENDERS MUST REGISTER WITH STATE

Lifetime registration is required for all sex offenders. The Minneapolis Police Department stresses that these notifications are not intended to increase fear, but instead believe that an informed public is a safer public. The Minneapolis Police Department has no legal authority to direct where a released offender may or may not live. Unless court-ordered restrictions exist, an offender may live wherever he chooses.

Sex offenders have always lived in our communities but it was not until passage of the Community Notification Bill and Sex Offender Registration Act that law enforcement knew where they were living. Due to the passage of these laws, law enforcement can now share information with the public.

According to www.minneapolismn.gov, a sex offender may be assigned a Risk Level of I, II, or III.

 An offender found to be a Risk Level I is considered the LEAST likely to re-offend.

An offender found to be a Risk Level II is thought to pose a MODERATE risk of re-offense. In this case, local law enforcement, and victims or witnesses are notified of the offenders’ release or relocation, as well as any agencies that may serve a population at risk of victimization that are located near the offenders’ home.

 An offender determined to be the MOST likely to re-offend is assigned a Risk Level III. In this case, local law enforcement, victims or witnesses, and any agencies that serve a population at risk of victimization may be notified, as well as the general public through a community meeting.

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CUTLINE:

Clarence Joseph Opheim, born Aug. 15, 1947, is a white male, 5’10”, 214 pounds, with a large build, brown eyes, very short grey hair (balding) and a fair complexion.  He wears glasses.

SIDEBARS

Personal Safety Tips

FOR CHILDREN

- Assure your children that they can talk with you about questions they have about good touch versus bad touch, what to do if a stranger approaches them or if someone they know acts inappropriately towards them.

- Remind your children basic safety rules: never talk to strangers or accept rides from people you don’t know; watch out for common lures and tricks (a lost adult wanting directions, asking you to help look for a lost pet, offering you money, candy, toys in exchange for a favor, etc.).

- Teach them to use the buddy system and to listen to their instincts – if something doesn’t feel or seem right, talk to you, a teacher, or another adult they trust.

FOR ADULTS

- Keep your windows and doors locked whether you are home or not. Some break-ins happen even when you’ve just stepped outside to water your lawn or shovel snow.

- If you live in a security building, do not let in people that you do not know, even if you think you may appear impolite. Remember, if they are there for a legitimate visit, their host will let them in.

- Consider taking a personal safety class and scheduling a home security check, both of which are conducted free of charge by the Minneapolis Police Department.

- Consider joining your neighborhood block club. Neighbors that know each other are more likely to look out for one another. If no club exists, contact local Crime Prevention Specialist Sue Roethele (612-673-2839 or sue.roethele@minneapolismn.gov) for more information about starting a block club, attending a personal safety workshop, or scheduling a home security check.

From http://www.minneapolismn.gov

Facts about Sexual Violence in Minnesota

- Over 90% of all convicted sex offenders knew their victims (according to victim interviews) prior to sexually assaulting them, according to the Minnesota Department of Corrections. Contrary to popular belief, most sex offenders do not assault strangers. They look like anyone else. They are our friends, family members, and community leaders. They are most often people we know and trust.

- In Minnesota, the most common sex offense committed by those that have gone to prison is that of child molestation. The second most common is rape, followed by incest and then sexual offenses that fall into a category listed as “other” (prostitution, pornography, etc.).

- Of the over 1,300 registered sex offenders in Minneapolis, the largest number of those (subject to Risk Level assignment) are Level I’s. Level II sex offenders constitute the second largest number of offenders, with Level III’s making up the smallest number.

- Sex offenders are NOT placed in any neighborhoods in the city of Minneapolis. Once they are released from prison, they are free to live wherever they choose. Most offenders are released to the jurisdiction that originally gained conviction and is overseeing their probation. This jurisdiction cannot legally deny them residency. Offenders that want to move outside that jurisdiction must obtain permission prior to moving and may be denied residency.