BOSTON (
MyFoxBoston.com) -- Governor Deval Patrick, just back from his week-long trade mission through Europe, says he fired the leadership at the Sex Offender Registry Board while he wasn't in the state for a whole bunch of reasons.
During his one and only public event today in Quincy, Governor Patrick told FOX 25 why he ousted Sex Offender Registry Board chairwoman Saundra Edwards and Executive Director Jeanne Holmes in part because of the way they handled a case involving Governor Patrick's brother-in-law who was convicted of raping Patrick's sister in 1993.
The Boston Globe reports a hearing officer found that Patrick's brother-in-law should not have to register as a sex offender, but that Edwards and Holmes then pressured the hearing officer to reverse his decision.
A lawsuit filed by the hearing officer was settled this year.
"I'd say maybe the final straw was the settlement of a lawsuit which happened not quite a year ago that involved some inappropriate at least, maybe unlawful pressuring by the chair and executive director of a hearing officer to change the outcome of a case," Patrick said. "The hearing officer didn't ultimately do that. It turns out that that case is the case that arose out of the my brother-in-law's experience way back at the beginning of the first campaign."
Patrick also said the board hadn't updated its regulations, that several of the board's decisions have been overturned by the SJC, and that the work environment wasn't positive.
Victims' advocate Laurie Myers says she's concerned Patrick may be trying to weaken the Sex Offender Registry Board.
"Every day the Sex Offender Registry is dragged into court to restrict information to the public. What's the best way to weaken the registry at this point?" Myers said. "They can't do it in the courts it hasn't been overturned yet because most of the time the court will side with the public's right to know. So the best way to get to the registry and weaken it right now is through the regulations."
Patrick denied that.
FOX 25's Sharman Sacchetti tried asking the governor if it was just a coincidence that the special commission set up in 2013 to review the regulations had its very first meeting last Tuesday, the same day Edwards and Holmes were fired.
Patrick said it was, but not before House Majority Leader Ron Mariano tried to block FOX 25's cameras from questioning him.
Sacchetti tried reaching former chairwoman Saundra Edwards to get her take on this, but was unsuccessful.
Patrick leaves office in January.
