Sex Offender Treatment as a Condition of Probation

Two of the topics I write about the most are probation and sex offenders. Today’s post is about both, answering a question that—somewhat to my surprise—comes up pretty frequently: Can a defendant who entered an Alford plea to a sex crime have his or her probation revoked for failing to accept responsibility for the crime during court-ordered treatment? (In North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25 (1970), you’ll recall, the Supreme Court held that a defendant can knowingly and voluntarily enter a guilty plea even if he is unwilling or unable to admit his commission of the crime.) Our court of appeals dealt with that question head on in State v. Alston, 139 N.C. App. 787 (2000). In Alston, the defendant entered an Alford plea to four counts of taking indecent liberties with a child, agreeing, under the language of his plea transcript, to be treated as being guilty without admitting guilt. One of the conditions of his probation was “active participation in and successful completion of a sexual offender treatment program.” The defendant also agreed in advance that a failure to participate in and complete the program was “immediate grounds for revocation.” Mr. Alston enrolled in treatment but “steadfastly and consistently maintained his innocence.” That resulted in his removal from the program and, in turn, the issuance of a probation violation report. At the violation hearing, a psychologist from the treatment center testified that that “the minimum entrance criterion for the program was that the offender accept some level of [...]