SOMERS, Conn. (AP) – State officials say a convicted serial rapist who attacked women in several Connecticut towns will face some of the strictest probation conditions in the state when he is released from prison this week.
David Pollitt, 54, formerly of Clinton, has completed his sentence after more than 24 years in prison for sexual assaults on women in Old Lyme, Waterford, Killingworth, Rocky Hill and Wallingford. Police also suspected him of rapes in other towns in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
State Correction Department records show that Pollitt is at the Osborn Correctional Institution in Somers and is due to be released Friday at the latest. He will serve five years of probation.
Pollitt is expected to live with his sister in Southbury upon his release, The Republican-American of Waterbury reported Monday. His address should be posted on the state’s sex offender registry within days of his release.
He’s been in prison since 1983 after being sentenced to 28 years for rape and attempted rape convictions involving at least five victims. The Day of New London reported that Pollitt was sentenced under the state’s now defunct system of giving inmates time off for good behavior instead of parole. The parole system was established after Pollitt was behind bars and his expected release was grandfathered in under the old system. Gov. M. Jodi Rell recently abolished parole for violent offenders until the system can be reviewed, but Pollitt’s case apparently does not apply.
Under his probation conditions, Pollitt will have to wear a monitoring bracelet that will be used to track his whereabouts by satellite, register with the state as a sex offender for the rest of his life and notify police of his address every three months.
He must also undergo sex offender evaluation and treatment, notify probation officials of existing or new romantic or sexual relationships, have no contact with his victims, not hitchhike or pick up hitchhikers, not date or socialize with anyone who has children under 16 unless approved by probation officials and stay away from schools.
, parks, playground or other areas frequented by children under 16.
Probation officials will also have authority over where Pollitt lives and works and what kind of electronic equipment he can own.
Officials with the Department of Adult Probation say they will monitor Pollitt closely, because he committed “stranger rapes” and may have problems adjusting to life outside prison after serving a long sentence.
“I can see it taking him a long time to get readjusted,” said Chief Probation Officer William Anselmo, who heads the department’s sex offender program.
Probation officials said Pollitt had little or no sex offender treatment in prison and he amassed seven disciplinary reports. He has never publicly acknowledged that he raped the women, but his treatment while on probation will require him to take responsibility for the crimes.
At the time of the attacks, Pollitt was a heavy equipment operator for Amtrak and lived in Clinton with his wife and two children. A court official said his wife and children left the area while he was in prison and are no longer part of his life.
State’s Attorney Michael L. Regan told The Day of New London that two of Pollitt’s victims in Waterford and Old Lyme were picked at random, and the seriousness of the crimes has not faded with time.
“This was a serial rapist … This is your worst nightmare,” Regan said.
Pollitt’s victims may have different reactions to his release, said Georgette J. Katin, director of the Sexual Assault Crisis Center of Eastern Connecticut.
“For some victims, clearly this is going to bring back the memories of the offense, bring back the feelings,” Katin said. “It’s going to cause anxiety and concerns for personal safety. For other victims, they may handle it in a different way.”
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On the Web:
Connecticut sex offender registry: http://www.sor.state.ct.us
AP-ES-10-08-07 1947EDT
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