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DADE CITY - A man described by one psychologist as an aggressive, antisocial exhibitionist could be locked in a mental hospital indefinitely if a jury today agrees with prosecutors who say he is likely to commit more sex crimes if released.
Donald Edward Day, 33, has been convicted at least five times for exposing himself in public, including in front of children. He also has convictions for groping women and one conviction of attempted sexual battery for crawling under a restroom stall and grabbing a woman while demanding sex.
Officially released from state prison on his attempted sexual battery charge in 1999, Day has been in a state detention center since, awaiting a civil trial for prosecutors to argue that Day should be sent to a secure state mental hospital for treatment until doctors determine he is not a threat.
Day is the first person to face trial in east Pasco under the state's Jimmy Ryce Act.
As the trial got under way Tuesday, prosecutor Manny Garcia said Day has refused treatment in prison and cannot control himself.
Day's public defender, Gary Welch, argued that while Day has a low IQ, he is a different man from when he was sentenced to prison in 1991 and again in 1997.
Psychologist David Partyka testified Tuesday that Day cannot control his sexual thoughts and has an explosive temper.
A jury of four men and three women, including an alternate, is expected to hear closing arguments and begin deliberating today.
The Jimmy Ryce Act was signed into law in 1998. It is named after a 9-year-old South Florida boy who was abducted from his bus stop in 1995, raped and murdered.
The law says sex offenders can be confined for treatment if they have a mental abnormality that renders them likely to engage in acts of sexual violence.