Pillager offender back in custody

Less than two months out of prison, convicted sex offender Robert Floyd Welch is back behind bars.

Welch, a Level 3 sex offender living in Pillager, was arrested at his home Wednesday by the Cass County Sheriff's Department. Welch was not arrested for committing a crime or violating conditions as a Level 3 sex offender.

Welch's arrest was the result of a petition filed Tuesday by the Cass County attorney's office and the Minnesota attorney general's office requesting the district court commit Welch as a sexually dangerous person and a sexual psychopathic personality.

"We want to let people know he's no longer out and about," Cass County Attorney Christopher Strandlie said in a telephone interview Wednesday afternoon.

Welch was not arrested for committing a crime or violating conditions as a Level 3 sex offender.

Welch, 40, was convicted of second-degree criminal sexual conduct in 1994 and 1997. In 2006 he was convicted of stalking and harassing three girls in Brainerd and was sentenced to 79 months. The Minnesota Court of Appeals recently overturned that conviction, determined Welch had served his sentence and released him from prison on Aug. 8.

A hearing will be Thursday in Cass County District Court to determine whether Welch will remain in custody through the commitment process. Strandlie said if the court agrees Welch should remain in custody pending the final resolution of his commitment proceedings Welch would be housed either at the Cass County jail or at the state hospital in St. Peter.

More than 100 people packed the Pillager School Aug. 26 for a community notification meeting following Welch's release from prison and move to a residence on Brook Lane in Pillager.