Burden of Proof
Jim Kimball of Nampa is 38 years-old and a fixture in the Treasure Valley ice hockey community. He referees games every chance he gets outside of his regular job and life as a husband and father of two.
But something else is always in the back of his mind.
For the past eleven years, the state has forced Kimball to register as a sex offender.
"This whole thing has been very hard on my wife. I have two kids. One is not old enough to understand it. The other one is to an extent," Kimball told CBS 2 News.
If you just looked below Kimball's mug shot on the on-line sex offender registry, you'd see his offense: statutory rape.
Unless you checked out his records, you'd never know by looking at the web site Kimball's case was dismissed in 1995.
"It turned out to be a one-time encounter that I knew was wrong, but wasn't thinking clearly," Kimball told CBS 2 News.
In 1991, Jim Kimball was a 23-year-old bus driver exchanging "inappropriate" notes with a 15-year-old student he'd known for a few years.
Their correspondence turned into a sexual encounter.
When the victim's parents found out about the notes and what had happened between them, Kimball says they decided to prosecute him.
"Her parents rightfully so chose to prosecute that. And that's why we're where we're at today. I hold no ill feelings. They did what they needed to do, and I totally agree with it," Kimball said.
Kimball plead guilty to statutory rape in 1992, but an Ada County judge withheld judgment for three years. During that probation period, Kimball was required to spend time in a jail work release program, complete sex abuse counseling, stay away from female minors, pay for any treatment sought by his victim, and maintain a clean record.
The same judge decided to dismiss the case in 1995, but Kimball could not escape the duty of registering as a sex offender.
By 2002, he began looking into a legal procedure that allows non-repeat offenders to petition for an exemption from having to register-- ten years after they're off probation.
In a letter to the court, Kimball wrote about wanting to spare his kids "any embarrassment in the future."
Idaho law prohibits Kimball from going within 500 feet of school grounds, unless he is driving his daughters to and from school or going to parent-teacher conferences.
"I want to have a chance to go and be with them and go and do the school things that are very important to them," he said.
Earlier this year, an Ada County judge agreed to consider Kimball's request to get off the registry.
It is not an easy process.
Ada County Deputy Prosecutor Shelly Armstrong handles cases involving sex crimes.
"Unfortunately, even though an offender may be fulfilling his part of the deal as far as not committing a new sexual offense, the research in this area is consistent that your risk of recidivism for sexual offenders actually goes up over time," Armstrong told CBS 2 News.
In Idaho, sex offenders must provide clear and convincing evidence they will not re-offend.
Most agree it is designed to be an extremely high burden, but some say it is too high.
"You can't guarantee some one is not going to make a stupid choice," said Dave Ferguson, a sex offender treatment specialist with SANE Solutions.
Ferguson says studies show those who get full treatment are at a much lower risk of re-offending, but there is no test or known mechanism for guaranteeing a certain behavior will never occur again.
He adds Idaho's current system is effective, but it also traps many one-time offenders-- who pose virtually no risk-- within a system that paints all sex offenders with a single brush.
On the day before his hearing, Kimball told CBS 2 News he was hopeful.
"It all rests in the hands of the judge. What his mindset is and what he feels he needs to do to protect the community," Kimball said.
Kimball presented his evidence to Judge Joel Horton Oct. 10, including polygraph tests and a four-month-long psychosexual evaluation that placed him "in the lowest risk category" possible for offending again. With the exception of several traffic tickets, Kimball has also maintained a clear criminal record since 1991.
Horton ended up siding with the prosecutor.
"Mr. Kimball has done many things to rehabilitate himself, but the issue is has he provided clear and convincing evidence that he no longer poses a risk? And the answer is no," said Armstrong.
But in a court recording of the hearing, Judge Horton told Kimball "the outcome of the hearing might have been different" were it not for a "sloppily written" statute regarding sex offenders' obligation to register.
"It's just a virtually meaningless statute that unfortunately creates false hope for people in your position," Horton said. "I hate the outcome because you are not the sort of person who the Legislature had in mind when it created a high burden for those who would escape from the duty of registration."
We caught up with a visibly distraught Kimball afterward.
"We'll just keep waiting and praying and give it a shot at the next level," Kimball said.
Armstrong says the statute is intended to be narrow.
"I have no doubt that he belongs on this registry because of the betrayal of trust," Armstrong told CBS 2 News, adding she believes court evidence shows Kimball was mature enough in 1991 to know his victim was vulnerable.
But others says Kimball's case shows the sex offender registry is "cluttered" and lacks information about the kind of treatment offenders have received.
"We're identifying him, and we're watching him when in fact it could be someone else who needs a lot more scrutiny that we're really not looking at," said Dave Ferguson.
Ferguson suggests the state develop a "tiered" sex offender registry that would allow the public to easily access an offender's recidivism risk levels and treatment history, and perhaps offer an avenue for fully rehabilitated low-risk offenders to get off the registry without such a high burden of proof.
"I would like to think that we can make changes in our lives. And I'd like to think that someone can be forgiven and allowed to go on with their lives without being persecuted," Ferguson said.
Unless the law changes, Jim Kimball's moment of indiscretion will likely taint him for the rest of his life.
He says he is trying to appeal his case in a higher court.
The victim involved in this case is now 30 years-old. We attempted to find her before publishing this story, but we were unsuccessful.
Since the incident, Kimball says he has not seen her either.
To date, Armstrong told CBS 2 News she has heard of only one other case in Idaho where a judge relieved a sex offender of his duty to register.
But something else is always in the back of his mind.
For the past eleven years, the state has forced Kimball to register as a sex offender.
"This whole thing has been very hard on my wife. I have two kids. One is not old enough to understand it. The other one is to an extent," Kimball told CBS 2 News.
If you just looked below Kimball's mug shot on the on-line sex offender registry, you'd see his offense: statutory rape.
Unless you checked out his records, you'd never know by looking at the web site Kimball's case was dismissed in 1995.
"It turned out to be a one-time encounter that I knew was wrong, but wasn't thinking clearly," Kimball told CBS 2 News.
In 1991, Jim Kimball was a 23-year-old bus driver exchanging "inappropriate" notes with a 15-year-old student he'd known for a few years.
Their correspondence turned into a sexual encounter.
When the victim's parents found out about the notes and what had happened between them, Kimball says they decided to prosecute him.
"Her parents rightfully so chose to prosecute that. And that's why we're where we're at today. I hold no ill feelings. They did what they needed to do, and I totally agree with it," Kimball said.
Kimball plead guilty to statutory rape in 1992, but an Ada County judge withheld judgment for three years. During that probation period, Kimball was required to spend time in a jail work release program, complete sex abuse counseling, stay away from female minors, pay for any treatment sought by his victim, and maintain a clean record.
The same judge decided to dismiss the case in 1995, but Kimball could not escape the duty of registering as a sex offender.
By 2002, he began looking into a legal procedure that allows non-repeat offenders to petition for an exemption from having to register-- ten years after they're off probation.
In a letter to the court, Kimball wrote about wanting to spare his kids "any embarrassment in the future."
Idaho law prohibits Kimball from going within 500 feet of school grounds, unless he is driving his daughters to and from school or going to parent-teacher conferences.
"I want to have a chance to go and be with them and go and do the school things that are very important to them," he said.
Earlier this year, an Ada County judge agreed to consider Kimball's request to get off the registry.
It is not an easy process.
Ada County Deputy Prosecutor Shelly Armstrong handles cases involving sex crimes.
"Unfortunately, even though an offender may be fulfilling his part of the deal as far as not committing a new sexual offense, the research in this area is consistent that your risk of recidivism for sexual offenders actually goes up over time," Armstrong told CBS 2 News.
In Idaho, sex offenders must provide clear and convincing evidence they will not re-offend.
Most agree it is designed to be an extremely high burden, but some say it is too high.
"You can't guarantee some one is not going to make a stupid choice," said Dave Ferguson, a sex offender treatment specialist with SANE Solutions.
Ferguson says studies show those who get full treatment are at a much lower risk of re-offending, but there is no test or known mechanism for guaranteeing a certain behavior will never occur again.
He adds Idaho's current system is effective, but it also traps many one-time offenders-- who pose virtually no risk-- within a system that paints all sex offenders with a single brush.
On the day before his hearing, Kimball told CBS 2 News he was hopeful.
"It all rests in the hands of the judge. What his mindset is and what he feels he needs to do to protect the community," Kimball said.
Kimball presented his evidence to Judge Joel Horton Oct. 10, including polygraph tests and a four-month-long psychosexual evaluation that placed him "in the lowest risk category" possible for offending again. With the exception of several traffic tickets, Kimball has also maintained a clear criminal record since 1991.
Horton ended up siding with the prosecutor.
"Mr. Kimball has done many things to rehabilitate himself, but the issue is has he provided clear and convincing evidence that he no longer poses a risk? And the answer is no," said Armstrong.
But in a court recording of the hearing, Judge Horton told Kimball "the outcome of the hearing might have been different" were it not for a "sloppily written" statute regarding sex offenders' obligation to register.
"It's just a virtually meaningless statute that unfortunately creates false hope for people in your position," Horton said. "I hate the outcome because you are not the sort of person who the Legislature had in mind when it created a high burden for those who would escape from the duty of registration."
We caught up with a visibly distraught Kimball afterward.
"We'll just keep waiting and praying and give it a shot at the next level," Kimball said.
Armstrong says the statute is intended to be narrow.
"I have no doubt that he belongs on this registry because of the betrayal of trust," Armstrong told CBS 2 News, adding she believes court evidence shows Kimball was mature enough in 1991 to know his victim was vulnerable.
But others says Kimball's case shows the sex offender registry is "cluttered" and lacks information about the kind of treatment offenders have received.
"We're identifying him, and we're watching him when in fact it could be someone else who needs a lot more scrutiny that we're really not looking at," said Dave Ferguson.
Ferguson suggests the state develop a "tiered" sex offender registry that would allow the public to easily access an offender's recidivism risk levels and treatment history, and perhaps offer an avenue for fully rehabilitated low-risk offenders to get off the registry without such a high burden of proof.
"I would like to think that we can make changes in our lives. And I'd like to think that someone can be forgiven and allowed to go on with their lives without being persecuted," Ferguson said.
Unless the law changes, Jim Kimball's moment of indiscretion will likely taint him for the rest of his life.
He says he is trying to appeal his case in a higher court.
The victim involved in this case is now 30 years-old. We attempted to find her before publishing this story, but we were unsuccessful.
Since the incident, Kimball says he has not seen her either.
To date, Armstrong told CBS 2 News she has heard of only one other case in Idaho where a judge relieved a sex offender of his duty to register.
