IN WG, INFORMATION IS KEY

Walnut Grove residents share concerns about registered sex offender relocating to his hometown

A day before a Level 3 registered sex offender was to move into Walnut Grove, about two dozen of its residents were on the receiving end of what was called the first step in growing awareness in a town that was soon to become home to the small town’s fourth registered sex offender.

Dwayne Swanson, a 1988 graduate of Walnut Grove High School, moved back to Walnut Grove last Thursday, and last Wednesday’s community meeting gave locals a chance to learn about Swanson, what his presence in the community entails, and to ask questions pertaining to his relocation.

“The purpose of this meeting is not to cause fear or make the community uncomfortable,” said Jason Jacobson, who is serving his first term as Redwood County Sheriff. “Instead, we believe that an informed public is a safer public. My goal of this meeting is to answer some of your questions to hopefully provide a level of comfort — not only to the citizens of Walnut Grove, but to the greater Redwood County.”

As of Jan. 1, 2025, there were 19,028 Minnesota residents required to register as either a Level 1, Level 2 or Level 3 sex offender. To date, there are 60 with a Redwood County zip code (four in Walnut Grove); 91 in Brown County; 77 in Lyon County; 59 in Cottonwood County; and 18 in Murray County.

“These numbers are very dynamic,” said Brad VanderVegt from the Minnesota Department of Corrections. “These individuals move with a great deal of frequency, so the numbers shift and move with them. Broad awareness is key, even if this individual decided he’s not coming. A well-informed community is a safer community.”

The Redwood County Sheriff’s Office conducts bi-annual checks on registered offenders in the county unless they live in a city with its own law enforcement; in that case, the local cop will handle it. That supervision is in addition to any probation or parole the person might be under.

Every offender is required to update their personal information, such as primary and secondary addresses, vehicles, phone numbers, current employment, and even bodily scars and tattoos.

“We do (checks) twice a year, but that’s a minimum,” Jacboson said. “We can do that at a much higher level if we have any indication that there’s any reason to have us check on them more often. If we find any discrepancies, we forward it over to the Redwood County Attorney’s Office.”

Any failure to comply will result in a new charge, Jacobson said.

Community notification applies to any registrant released from prison; those from other states or federal jurisdictions who were released from prison, including military; and those civilly committed for sexual offense behavior.

A Level 3 offender is considered the highest of risks and thus requires broad notification or disclosure through the Department of Corrections public registrant website, a public notification meeting, the local newspaper, social media and/or door-to-door flyers. Currently, of all registered offenders, about 15% are labeled Level 3. Of the 435 registered offenders who are subject to public disclosure, 13 are non-complaint, meaning the State doesn’t know where they are.

According to the notification of relocation, from 2003-2004, Swanson, who is listed at 6’2”, 244 pounds with blue eyes and red/auburn hair, engaged in recurring incidents of sexual contact against a 12-year-old male and a 14-year-old male whom he knew, including touch. Swanson used friendliness and attention to create a relationship of trust and used that relationship to attain and exploit unmonitored contact.

“His relationship to the victims was the ‘cool guy in town,’ where they could go and get cigarettes and drink alcohol,” VanderVegt said. “He let them come into his home where they would hang out and groom them. Once these children reported what was happening to them, law enforcement got involved.”

Swanson was charged in 2005 in Benton County with Criminal Sexual Conduct in the 4th Degree, a felony. His stay was vacated in 2007, and he was committed to the commissioner of corrections; he was initially released in 2008 as was, at the time, considered a Level 2 offender. Swanson was back in court in 2013 after being charged in 2012 in Wright County for Possession of Child Sexual Exploitation Material.

Swanson was not known by his victims and was not generating images, just receiving and downloading them. He was placed on a Stay of Adjudication (no conviction) and was put on probation for five years. Swanson’s SOA was vacated in 2016, and he was convicted and was placed on a five-year stay. His sentence expired and his rights restored in 2019; he no longer is under any correction oversight or supervision.

“Law enforcement will always know where he lives, what he drives … he is subject to the registry for life,” VanderVegt said. “As long as he retains that Risk Level 3, the community will get to know of him as well.”

Swanson has served his court-imposed sanctions for his offenses, opening the door to fully transition back into a community. Swanson’s actual physical address in Walnut Grove will not be publicly divulged, although it was noted that he lives in the vicinity of 2nd and Main streets. Under State law, there is only a certain amount of information about a registered sex offender that can be shared with the public. VanderVegt knows that in a town as small and as tight-knit as Walnut Grove is, residents will find out where Swanson lives if they don’t already know.

“Proximal addresses are intended to give enough information to formulate safety plans around, while not giving so much information as to encourage or incite vigilantism,” VanderVegt said. “A problem comes when (the abuser) starts to suffer from violence or harassment, or property damage. It puts their lives at risk, the safety of the community at risk and does nothing to restore a victim. It only serves to put the Notification Act in peril.”

VanderVegt said it’s OK if people share where Swanson lives with others, but he doesn’t want that information to proliferate beyond the town’s borders, giving someone with no stake in what goes on in town the ability to exact some kind of revenge.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics notes that 59% of children or teens who have been exploited have a relationship with their offender, and 34% are family members. Just 7% were classified as strangers, or those they have come in contact with a total of less than 24 hours. VanderVegt said two-thirds of victims are 17 or under — 9% of the total population of Minnesota. He added that the more teens search for their autonomy, the more prone they are to manipulation.

“What we think of strangers, it’s that person with ill intent lurking just beyond our awareness, just outside of our ability go after them,” VanderVegt said. “I’m aware that when you hear that number, it does nothing to comfort you, but what I do not want is for you to focus all your attention on that smallest percentile. The much more likely scenario is going to be somebody who is earning a relationship, who’s building trust to exploit that access.”

One attendee at the meeting said she realizes Swanson is free to live his life — which includes having Internet access — but asked about how he would be monitored. The City of Walnut Grove no longer has local law enforcement coverage, as it lost its chief of police earlier this year, but Jacobson said there is a sheriff’s deputy specifically assigned to monitor him, and any patterns of irregular behavior that may arise will be documented.

“He still has to be careful — he has a proven track record and history of committing these crimes,” said Jacobson. “There are some additional court options that we can pursue if he engages in predatory conduct that is putting the community at risk. Walking his dog isn’t predatory conduct, but if chooses to walk his dog around the school every single day, that’s a different story.”

The Redwood County Sheriff’s Department has been contracted by the City of Walnut Grove and has made the town part of its regular patrol routine.

“We are responding to incidents and are taking matters seriously in Walnut Grove and making sure we are holding people who are doing things accountable,” Jacobson said. “This will be no different. We will have an officer presence as much as we can.”

Jacobson said he did have a conversation with Lyon County Sheriff Eric Wallen earlier on Oct. 14 concerning cities in that county. Jacobson wouldn’t say whether or not Swanson has a working vehicle, but reminds everyone that this is not just a Walnut Grove issue.

“We know this doesn’t stop at the county line, or the school district line,” Jacobson said.

VanderVegt closed by saying that 90% of those who engage in sexual harm in Minnesota do not go on to reoffend in a similar fashion if they have gone through the state risk management system. Also, 90% who are engaging in this type of harm are offending against those whom they have built relationships of trust with.

“It’s about relational proximity — social proximity is so much more predictive than any kind of geographical proximity,” he said. “The Internet now connects people across all kinds of boundaries and borders. Where someone physically exists is less of a predictor nowadays than ever before.”

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It’s about relational proximity — social proximity is so much more predictive than any kind of geographical proximity. The Internet now connects people across all kinds of boundaries and borders.

Where someone physically exists is less of a predictor nowadays than ever before.

— BRAD VANDERVEGT, MN DOC