GOP lawmaker questions why sex offender was allowed on group outing at Mankato mall, then escaped
Republican State Representative Joe Schomacker from Luverne wants an explanation from the state Human Services Department, after a 31-year-old sex offender at the Saint Peter Regional Treatment Center escaped Thursday afternoon during a group outing at River Hills Mall in Mankato — and wasn’t captured until the next morning:
“Why anyone ever thought it was a good idea to bring a known sex offender — a dangerous sex offender — into a place where there’s the potential to have contact around children, is just the tip-of-the-iceberg of the questions.”
…says Schomacker, who wants hearings on that and other issues. He says public safety has been in question a lot over the last few years, and…
“A case like this doesn’t ease anyone’s mind on what’s going on.”
State Human Services officials weren’t immediately available to respond.