55°
Devin C. Curtis, 26, was originally arrested by authorities at his home in Clarkston, WA in June 2021.
A mother had gone to police in Glen Rock a few months earlier after discovering “extremely sexual” texts and images. They, in turn, contacted their colleagues more than 2,500 miles away in Clarkston.
Curtis apparently was already on law enforcement radar there after being accused of luring a female to his home using a bogus social media account, according to court records.
Following the call from Glen Rock, police in Clarkston searched his home and took Curtis into custody on charges of possessing child pornography – both videos and photos – that they said were found on his cellphone.
Curtis waived extradition and was brought to Bergen County to face the New Jersey charges first. Rather than risk the potential consequences of a trial, he took a deal from Bergen County prosecutors, pleading guilty to one count of sexual assault of a victim 13 to 16 years old.
In exchange, he got a five-year sentence with a mandatory minimum of four years, three months and a day before he’ll be eligible for parole.
That’s a moving target, however.
Curtis is serving the sentence at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Avenel, a maximum-security facility designed to treat sex offenders.
Operated jointly by New Jersey’s Department of Corrections and the Department of Health and Human Services, the ADTC houses roughly 700 offenders.
All have been committed there either after serving prison sentences or instead of doing so for rape and other sexual assaults on adults and children. The objective is to provide treatment, education and vocational studies, with the possibility of reintegrating those sent there into society at some point.
Curtis could end up spending more time at Avenel (as the facility is commonly referred to) than if he’d been sent to state prison.
Offenders can be held at the ADTC indefinitely if a judge deems them an ongoing risk to sexually abuse anyone else. Those who have their commitments renewed by judges either die at the facility or spend dozens more years in custody.
For Curtis, there’s now the case in Washington State.
After being sentenced in Hackensack this past January, he asked that he be brought back to deal with the charges there, according to Big Country News in Clarkston.
Curtis was transported across the country to the Asotin County Jail, where he will remain until charges against him of sexually exploiting a minor and collecting child pornography have been settled.
If Curtis is convicted or takes a plea in that case, the penalty will be delayed until Curtis has paid his debt in New Jersey. Then he’d be returned to Washington to serve out that sentence.
ALSO SEE: Clarkston man to Face Charges for Possession of Photos Containing Child Sex Acts
Click here to follow Daily Voice Vineland and receive free news updates.
