The Special Treatment Unit is a facility in which civilly committed

sex offender A sex offender (sexual offender, sex abuser, or sexual abuser) is a person who has committed a Sex and the law, sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convi ...

s are held, pursuant to the New Jersey Sexually Violent Predator Act of 1998 (N.J.S.A. 30:4-27.24 to -27.38). It is operated by the

New Jersey Department of Corrections The New Jersey Department of Corrections (NJDOC) is the government agency responsible for operations and management of prison facilities in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The New Jersey Department of Corrections operates 9 correctional facilitie ...

, and is located in a separate building within

East Jersey State Prison East Jersey State Prison (''formerly "Rahway State Prison"'') is a maximum security prison operated by the New Jersey Department of Corrections in Avenel, Woodbridge Township, New Jersey. It was established in 1896 as Rahway State Prison, an ...

Avenel, New Jersey Avenel is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Woodbridge Township, in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

. It is near the

Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center The Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center (ADTC) is a secure correctional facility operated by the New Jersey Department of Corrections. Its purpose is to provide treatment and incarceration for certain criteria meeting repetitive and compulsive ...

, New Jersey's center for incarcerated sex offenders, also in Avenel. Residents of the three facilities interact only with the residents in their own facility. In 2016, its population was 428. Since the program's inception in 1999 (at a different location), about 15% of the 579 sex offenders who were civilly committed in New Jersey have been discharged to the community after treatment. The state estimated in 2016 that there were 15 patients at Avenel who were convicted as juveniles but were sent to Avenel, indefinitely, once they completed their sentences. Public defenders and attorneys for the residents put the number at 30. In 2016, Gary Lanigan, the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Corrections, and a host of others were hit with a

class action A class action is a form of lawsuit. Class Action may also refer to: * ''Class Action'' (film), 1991, starring Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio * Class Action (band), a garage house band * "Class Action" (''Teenage Robot''), a 2002 e ...

suit filed by detainees. They claim their civil rights are violated because they are not provided "adequate and meaningful mental health treatment" (necessary for their possible release) due to "systematic deficiencies." The complaint also says that in addition to the reportedly inadequate treatment, plaintiffs have "been confined in punitive conditions" that overstep the goal of the Sexually Violent Predator Act. Plaintiffs seek redress for the defendants’ alleged preference to "warehouse" such offenders out of sight in an attempt to indefinitely detain and punish, rather than treat supposed mental disabilities. "Individual counseling" at the facility is described as "uncommon".

References

External links

State of New Jersey Request for Information for the Operation of Facility(ies) for the Treatment of Sexually Violent Predators
* {{coord, 40.5908, -74.2688, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-NJ, display=title Prisons in New Jersey Buildings and structures in Middlesex County, New Jersey Woodbridge Township, New Jersey Civil commitment of sex offenders 1999 establishments in New Jersey