KANSAS
The Wichita Eagle
BY AMANDA O'TOOLE
The Wichita Eagle
Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline filed a petition Thursday in Harvey County to have Robert Larson designated a sexual predator.
If Kline's request is granted, Larson, an ex-priest who was convicted of child molestation in 2001, would go to a sexual predator treatment program at Larned State Hospital.
State law allows offenders who are designated sexual predators to be held in state mental hospitals to undergo treatment indefinitely, even after their prison sentences are up.
Larson, 76, was scheduled to be released from the Lansing Correctional Facility on March 29, but Kline made arrangements with Larson's lawyer, Dan Monnat, to keep Larson in state custody until the petition is accepted or rejected.
Kline said similar cases have taken about 60 days to resolve.