Background
The Oregon Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision issued a final order setting Nathan L. Lorengel’s sex-offender notification level at Level III. In applying the Static-99R assessment, the board assigned Lorengel one point on Item 2, “lived with lover.”
Lorengel sought judicial review, raising six assignments of error. He first argued that the board failed to assess his risk of reoffending at the time of the assessment because it did not account for the time he had lived in the community without committing a new sex offense. He also argued that the board misapplied the Static-99 coding rules when it concluded that his live-in relationship from 2004 to 2006 did not qualify under Item 2 because he also lived with his parents and served two short jail sentences during that period.
The Court’s Holding
The Oregon Court of Appeals accepted the board’s concessions that it had erred in both respects. Under the court’s prior decisions in Allen v. Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision and Thomsen v. Board of Parole, the board should have considered Lorengel’s time in the community without a new sex offense when determining his current risk of reoffending.
The court also accepted the board’s concession that, under the circumstances, it had incorrectly scored Item 2 of the Static-99R. The court therefore reversed the Level III notification order and remanded the matter to the board for further proceedings.
Key Takeaways
- A sex-offender risk assessment must account for relevant time spent in the community without a new sex offense.
- The board incorrectly applied the Static-99 coding rules to Lorengel’s 2004-to-2006 live-in relationship.
- The court reversed and remanded after accepting the board’s concessions of error; it did not itself set a new notification level.
Why It Matters
The decision reinforces that Oregon sex-offender notification classifications must reflect the person’s risk at the time of assessment, including offense-free time in the community, and must be based on a correct application of the Static-99R scoring rules.
The opinion is a nonprecedential memorandum opinion under ORAP 10.30 and may be cited only as permitted by ORAP 10.30(1).