PORTLAND – A judge Friday ordered a sex offender from Portland to serve nine months in jail for violating the terms of his probation, based primarily on the man’s insistence that he should not be forced to get counseling.

Melvin “Jim” Logan, 69, will get credit for the roughly four months he has served since his arrest in May on various probation violations.

Logan was convicted in September 2007 in Cumberland County Superior Court on 19 misdemeanor counts of possessing child pornography. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison and six years of probation.

All people convicted of sex offenses in Maine are required to participate in therapy as part of their rehabilitation. According to Logan’s probation officer and the head of the therapy program, Logan showed up for sessions but refused to participate in treatment. Instead, Logan was rude and aggressive and spoke almost exclusively about his claim that he was wrongfully convicted.

Logan wrote a 500-page book about his conviction, and a relative posted it on the Internet. He says he intends to spend the rest of his life trying to reverse his conviction and seeking legal action against the people who conspired against him.

At his hearing before Justice Roland Cole on Friday, Logan admitted that he has been frustrated by the counseling requirement, and that he has spent most of his time on an effort to speak to people about his case.

“I think I have done everything that can be expected of someone who has been illegally convicted,” Logan said.

The prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Matt Tice, said Logan’s behavior in treatment and his posting of his book online were unacceptable. Under the terms of his probation, Logan is not allowed to use the Internet. Tice asked the judge to send Logan to jail for a year — the maximum punishment allowed for the probation violation.

“He’s totally non-compliant, not cooperative,” Tice said. “What we have here is an untreated sex offender who is in major denial, and I think that’s dangerous.”

Logan’s attorney, Randall Bates, said the fact that Logan has refused to participate in treatment is simply a reflection of his vehemently held position that he is not guilty. Bates asked Cole to release Logan on time served so that he could return to the home in Portland where he cares for his 91-year-old mother.

Cole told Logan that despite his disagreement with the conviction, he must abide by the same rules as everyone else.

“You’re going to have to cooperate,” the judge said. “You have to participate in good faith in sex offender counseling.

“I’m just concerned that if you don’t modify your behavior then you’ll be locked up for the rest of your life,” he said.

At the end of the hearing, Logan told the judge he would follow the court’s orders. He said he was foolish to think that, by acting outrageously, he could get people to help him fight his conviction.

 

Staff Writer Trevor Maxwell can be contacted at 791-6451 or at: tmaxwell@pressherald.com