LARNED — Pawnee County Sheriff Scott King had a pleasant surprise for the Pawnee County commissioners Monday — a reimbursement check from the state of Kansas for $31,032.
The reimbursement was for transportation, medical treatment and housing for a past resident of the Sexual Predator Treatment Program (SPTP) at Larned State Hospital. The minimum cost was $35 a day the past two years.
The Pawnee County commissioners expressed gratitude and praised Sheriff King for his persistence in Pawnee County being reimbursed. King said it is not uncommon for paperwork to be lost during the period of time while waiting for reimbursement. A similar case is more than $20,000 owed to Pawnee County.   
“This is just the first one,” said John Haas. Pawnee County commissioner.
Perry Lee Isley, Jr., 55, faced a sentence of 51.6 years after a Pawnee County jury convicted him of aggravated sodomy, aggravated sexual battery and sexual battery this spring.
The charges stemmed from a series of incidents between Oct. 26, 2011 and Nov. 17, 2011. Honorable District Judge Bruce T. Gatterman scheduled sentencing after the completion of the presentence investigation report.
Senator Mitch Holmes and Pawnee County Attorney John Settle both testified in February about the local costs of transporting and housing such inmates, relating to sexually violent predators.
Pawnee County is held responsible for paying costs related to prosecution/incarceration for crimes committed in the facility.
“These are very dangerous people in the Sexual Predator Treatment Program, not safe for anyone to be around them,” Settle said during the hearing.
Settle testified that Pawnee County has incurred considerable costs due to criminal cases that arise when those in the SPTP commit a crime while placed at Larned State Hospital.
In situations where a patient is especially dangerous, the Pawnee County sheriff has to issue a warrant and take the patient into custody, then transfer the patient to a more capable jail facility.
“It is very difficult to budget for jail expenses and unfair to place this burden on the citizens of Pawnee County,” Settle said..
The 200 residents of the SPTP are housed at Larned State Hospital at the Isaac Ray, Dillon and Jung buildings. There are seven phases of the treatment program including five inpatient and two outpatient. There is no time limit for completion of each phase.
Settle offered an amendment to Senate Bill 400 that would require KDADS to pay the expenses directly, rather than reimburse the county. However, Senate Bill 400 died in committee.  
Settle said Pawnee County filed more than 120 felonies against SPTP patients for crimes committed against staff and others since 2009. In one case, it cost $26,000 to process one inmate.
Isley faces a presumptive prison sentence of 51.6 years with the Kansas Department of Corrections, based on his criminal history. The defendant has been in the custody of the Ford County Detention Center since April 11, 2012.
At the time of the offenses, Isley was civilly committed for treatment and rehabilitation in the Sexual Predator Treatment Program at Larned State Hospital. Isley was originally convicted in Shawnee County in 1995 on two counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child under the age of 14.
Isley has escaped twice in the past from protective custody.
In August 2008, a spokesperson for the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services reported that Isley apparently hid in a laundry bin and used a tool to cut through security fences. Isley also previously escaped from Pawnee County custody on April 24, 1987.
According to testimony presented at the trial, Isley targeted a new resident of SPTP within a few days of the victim’s arrival to the program on Oct. 26, 2011.
The victim told investigators that “Isley is a straight up predator.”
The treatment staff testified that when the victim returned for a continuation of assessment in the morning of Nov. 17, 2011, the victim appeared disheveled and unable to focus. When pressed, he told staff that around 6 p.m. on Nov. 16, 2011, Isley came to his room and demanded sex.
Testimony indicated Isley physically overpowered the victim. Security footage verified the two men were in the victim’s room during the time frame divulged. DNA evidence was confirmed on the victim’s clothes that matched the defendant.
The jury deliberated three hours and returned felony guilty verdicts for Isley for aggravated sodomy occurring on or about Nov. 16, 2011 and aggravated sexual battery having been outcome by fear occurring on or about Nov. 15, 2011.
The jury also returned a guilty verdict to a lesser included charge of sexual battery accomplished without force or fear alleged to have occurred the week of Oct. 26, 2011.