Supreme Court says Wichita sex offender can remain free

A Wichita sex offender is a free man after the Kansas Supreme Court ruled he had been held too long awaiting trial on whether he should be committed to the state’s sexual predator program.

The unanimous Supreme Court decision means there will be no further prosecution of Todd Ellison, who served more than 10 years in state prison and an additional 4 1/2 years in county jail as he awaited trial on whether he should be committed to the sexual predator program at Larned State Hospital.

Ellison was initially convicted in 1998 of trying to blackmail a teenage girl into having sex and downloading child pornography from the Internet.

In 2014, Sedgwick County Judge Ben Burgess ordered Ellison released, ruling that the years he spent incarcerated in county jail had violated his right to a speedy trial on the question of whether he should be sent to Larned.

The state Court of Appeals overturned Burgess’ decision and ordered further proceedings in the case. But on Friday, the Supreme Court overturned the appeals court, upholding Burgess’ original decision to let Ellison go.

In the Larned program, sexual offenders are civilly committed as mental patients who are a danger to society and they are not legally considered as prisoners being punished for their crimes.

The Supreme Court noted that while he was held at county jail, Ellison was treated the same as an ordinary criminal-case inmate and denied mental treatment and annual mental-health examinations that could have led to his release.

While much of the delay was attributed to Ellison’s own court filings and requests for continuances, at least 709 days he spent in jail were unexplained by the state, said the Supreme Court’s opinion, delivered by Justice Dan Biles.

“There is no evidence of any improper motive lurking behind the State’s role in the delay, but the State had an obligation to bring Ellison’s case to trial,” the opinion said. “It cannot fulfill that obligation by remaining passive year after year.

“The extraordinary length of the delay to provide Ellison with his day in court and the obvious prejudice he suffered being incarcerated during that time compels the result as the district court determined.”

Justice Caleb Stegall filed a concurring opinion, saying he felt that Burgess’ effort to balance the state’s interest and Ellison’s rights “was reasonable and supported by the evidence.”

Ellison was released from jail shortly after Burgess’ order in February 2014 and has not been returned to custody since then, according to county jail records.

This story was originally published December 9, 2016 at 2:50 PM with the headline "Supreme Court says Wichita sex offender can remain free."