Mitman's fate to be decided at hearing today

Jailed sex felon and graduate student Kurt Mitman will learn at a hearing today if he will be allowed to return to campus.

University officials discovered last month that Mitman - a first-year Economics graduate student who is serving a jail sentence on child-molestation charges - was commuting to class from a Bucks County prison as part of an academic-release program.

At a Jan. 17 hearing, County Judge Theodore Fritsch suspended Mitman's academic release and gave the county Men's Community Corrections Center two weeks to draft a new release proposal that would provide for more monitoring provisions if Mitman were allowed to return to classes.

When the case is once again brought before Judge Fritsch at 2 p.m. today, he will make a final decision on whether to reinstate Mitman's academic privileges.

Jennifer Schorn, chief of special victims for the Bucks County District Attorney's office, said officials at Penn and at the Men's Community Corrections Center have devised a plan for monitoring him if the judge orders his release.

She added that she will seek to prevent Mitman from being granted any academic privileges whatsoever.

"Until he is paroled, I don't think it is appropriate" that he should be permitted to enroll as a student, Schorn said.

Mitman is eligible for parole in September.

Schorn explained that, because Judge Fritsch decided to suspend Mitman's privileges in the first place, it will be the responsibility of the defense to convince Fritsch that Mitman should be eligible to return to campus.

"I've already presented my case as to the lack of supervision" Mitman received at Penn, Schorn said. "Now it's the defense's burden."

If Mitman were to be reinstated into the academic release program, University spokeswoman Lori Doyle has said the University will allow him to resume classes.

Previously, monitoring of Mitman was limited to calls placed to and from his cell phone, according to testimony taken from his Jan. 17 hearing.

"There was absolutely no monitoring of the defendant, and there were strict conditions placed as to his sentence," Schorn said.

Among those conditions, Schorn said, was a prohibition from contact with minors.

But even if Mitman's suspension is upheld, Schorn said, she has no opposition to his returning to Penn if he is granted parole in the fall.

"He has every right to pursue his academic career once he's paroled," she said.

Schorn added that, although she could not forecast whether he would be released in September, Mitman might face difficulty obtaining parole because of his felony status.

"He's a felony-one sex offender," she said, noting this to be the highest class of sex offenders.

Richard Fink, Mitman's lawyer, could not be reached for comment, though he has previously said that he believes Fritsch will allow Mitman to return to campus under increased supervision.

Comments (7)

Mitman should be allowed to continue classes as soon as possible. I am not familiar with the facts of his criminal case, but he has and is serving the sentence the court imposed, the court which was apprised of the facts. Adding on to that punishment serves no practical or moral purpose. As a practicing attorney and former prosecutor, I have seen too many people sentenced by the public to what is effectively eternal punishment. They have no options, no future. The risk of self destruction or, re-offending, becomes greater in the face of such hopeless prospects.

Okay Penn Parent, maybe you should hire him and let him hang around your children/family. [QUOTE id="66edf126-10b5-4c7d-97f8-0bfebdaaab75"]Mitman should be allowed to continue classes as soon as possible. I am not familiar with the facts of his criminal case, but he has and is serving the sentence the court imposed, the court which was apprised of the facts. Adding on to that punishment serves no practical or moral purpose. As a practicing attorney and former prosecutor, I have seen too many people sentenced by the public to what is effectively eternal punishment. They have no options, no future. The risk of self destruction or, re-offending, becomes greater in the face of such hopeless prospects.[/QUOTE]

Penn Parent, you are an idiot. This guy raped a little boy, ok. He shouldn't be able to come to this campus with minimal supervision. There are people in jail right now for minor crimes just as smart as this sicko who will never be released from prison to attend an ivy league university. Shame on this school for not looking into the character of the students and faculty better.

Penn parent's kid probably is one of those drunken idiots who gets whatever she wants and has been passed around the frat house.

(Stop Using) Sex as a Weapon!!

Yea, but what if this kid did come back to Penn now? Even if the authorities let him back in, some idiot(s) would probably pull a Jeffry Dahmer job on him anyway.....

[QUOTE id="79285e1a-3490-4577-9e2e-17949eabdd19"]Penn Parent, you are an idiot. This guy raped a little boy, ok. He shouldn't be able to come to this campus with minimal supervision. There are people in jail right now for minor crimes just as smart as this sicko who will never be released from prison to attend an ivy league university. Shame on this school for not looking into the character of the students and faculty better.[/QUOTE] Penn Parent is not an idiot. You should make sure that you get your facts straight before posting them on line. Using such inflammatory language which is incorrect is libelous. The Daily Pennsylvanian should also be more careful. By definition, Mitman is NOT a child molester and for the media to refer to him as such is libelous. I think that the Daily Pennsylvanian should print a retraction and apologize to him. The officials of the University of Pennsylvania have handled Mitman's case fairly.

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