Sex Offenders In Montana Face Publicity

The state Department of Corrections has initiated a new policy on sex offenders by giving the news media in Billings and Great Falls photographs and detailed information about a man who moved back to Billings on release from prison.

The department will do the same throughout Montana for sex offenders who refuse treatment while they’re in prison, said Phil Sanderson, head of the eastern Montana probation and parole office.

Officials hope the new policy will alert the public to a possible threat in the community as well as encourage inmates to seek treatment for their problems, he said.

“We’ve got guys who absolutely refuse any treatment,” he said. “But if they know their information is going to be blown all over the papers and television when they get out, that might give them something to think about.”

Information on John William McPherson, 43, was released to newspapers and television stations in Billings and Great Falls because he maintains homes in both cities, Sanderson said.