North Dakota Sex Offender Expert Pleads Not Guilty to Child Porn Charges
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A former psychologist who evaluated sex offenders at North Dakota's state mental hospital faces federal charges of possession of child pornography.
Joseph Belanger, 61, pleaded not guilty Monday to three counts, including possession and receipt of materials involving the sexual exploitation of minors.
Steven Light, Belanger's attorney, said afterward that he had yet to review the evidence but that if the allegations prove to be true, "it's further evidence that this type of illness can strike anyone."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Belanger's trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 29.
Belanger, who worked at the State Hospital in Jamestown for more than 20 years, testified in court on whether convicted sex offenders were dangerous and should be confined indefinitely for psychiatric treatment. He was an expert witness in hundreds of cases, Light said.
"He was the go-to guy in the state," Light said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In Iowa, The Des Moines Register reported in a copyright story that revelations about Belanger led to reviews of more than 145 cases in which he was involved, and to new trials for two sex offenders in that state.
Belanger's testimony isn't likely to affect North Dakota cases because of a law that had required supporting testimony from two expert witnesses to justify indefinite confinement of sexually dangerous individuals, state and federal officials said. The North Dakota Legislature repealed the two-expert requirement in 2007.
Belanger hasn't testified in any federal cases in North Dakota, said Drew Wrigley, the state's U.S. attorney.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Belanger resigned from the hospital in November, admitting in a letter to a state licensing board that he had an addiction to child pornography. He blamed childhood sexual abuse on the fact he has "been so frightened of the world and of women that I mostly used pornography ... as an outlet."
U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen Klein ordered Belanger to report to a halfway house until he can be placed on electronic home monitoring. He is not allowed to have any contact with minors or have any use of computers and the Internet, Klein said.
The indictment accuses Belanger of receiving the images in November 1999 and June 2007. Prosecutors would not give any details about the case but said Belanger was identified as part of "Operation Flicker," a federal investigation to find subscribers of child pornography Web sites.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It's gut-wrenching when you have a chance to talk to the victims themselves," Wrigley said.