MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A convicted serial rapist has destroyed explicit journals known as “fantasy logs” that could have been evidence for officials fighting to prevent his release, his attorney acknowledged during a court hearing.
Thomas Duvall, 58, kept the journals while undergoing therapy in the Minnesota Sex Offender Program, the Star Tribune reported Tuesday (https://strib.mn/1kGnYJg ).
Attorney General Lori Swanson, who opposes his release, and a psychologist had sought copies of the logs, which reportedly contained fantasies of sexually violent encounters. A hearing that was set for this week has been postponed to mid-September so psychologists can review his treatment history.
“In a case as important as this, we should see all the available data,” said Dr. James Alsdurf, a forensic psychologist appointed by a state appeals panel.
The case became politically charged last year when Republican lawmakers blasted Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton for failing to oppose Duvall’s release.
Duvall assaulted a string of teenage girls in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1987 he tied up one with an electrical cord and raped her repeatedly while hitting her with a hammer. His logs were among more than 6,000 pages of documents that experts had planned to review before making their final recommendations on his proposed discharge. It’s unclear if copies of the logs were ever created.
Sex offenders are often required to maintain journals in therapy. That puts them in a difficult situation, said Warren Maas, executive director of the Project Pathfinder treatment program.
“If you don’t (keep a journal), then you don’t get released. If you do do it, then the attorney general or someone else will bring it up at a hearing opposing your release,” he said.
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Information from: Star Tribune, https://www.startribune.com
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