Predatory offender back in custody
Eugene Allen Wgeishofski, a Level 3 predatory offender, was taken into custody Monday afternoon at his Ironton home.
Wgeishofski, 54, was not arrested because of a crime or violation but because the Crow Wing County Attorney's office and the Minnesota Attorney General's office is seeking to have the district court commit Wgeishofski as a sexually dangerous person and a sexual psychopathic personality.
Eugene Wgeishofski
Crow Wing County Attorney Don Ryan said the commitment hearings started Tuesday. He said the attorney general's office handles such cases for counties.
"We're doing what we said we'd do" at the October offender notification meeting about Wgeishofski, Ryan said.
A the notification meeting at Crosby-Ironton High School the public was informed that Wgeishofski, a Level 3 predatory offender, had been living for almost a year with relatives in Ironton.
Following public outcry at the community notification meeting, it was determined that Wgeishofski had properly contacted authorities when he moved to Crow Wing County, but his case information was never entered into the county's system. The sheriff's department took steps to remedy the problem.
In 1980, Wgeishofski was convicted in Washington for third-degree rape of a 15-year-old girl. The victim and her boyfriend were hitchhiking when Wgeishofski came upon them. He used force, brandished a knife and threatened to kill the girl to get her to comply.
In 1981, Wgeishofski broke into a residence in Washington and sexually assaulted a 24-year-old woman. During the continued sexual assault Wgeishofski threatened to kill the victim's husband and 5-month-old child if she did not comply with his demands.
In 1989, it was alleged he had sexual misconduct with a 16-year-old girl, including solicitation for sex. He used a gun to order the girl into his vehicle. Though he wasn't charged in the incident, his probation was revoked and he served the remainder of his sentence for the 1980 and 1981 crimes. He was in prison from 1990-2005.
In 2005 he was released from prison and assigned as a Level 3 predatory offender in Washington state. He was reviewed for civil commitment in that state as a sexually violent predator but was found not to meet criteria.
MATT ERICKSON may be reached at matt.erickson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5857.