Politics

HASTINGS, Minn. (AP) ― A Rice County prosecutor wants to unseat a Dakota County judge and take his place on the bench. He's basing his one-issue campaign on a case involving a sex offender who was awarded custody of his girlfriend's daughter, then went on to sexually assault the girl.

Nathaniel Reitz is running against Judge Joseph Carter in the 1st Judicial District, which spans Carver, Dakota, Goodhue, Le Sueur, McLeod, Scott and Sibley counties.

Reitz said he's troubled by the case of Justin Paul Farnsworth, a 34-year-old Hastings man who was sentenced in February to 27 years in prison for first-degree criminal sexual conduct.

"I was hoping someone would run against (Carter) just so voters would have an opportunity to give their evaluation of his performance overall," Reitz said.

Carter said he felt terrible about the outcome, but that he handled the case by the book.

He considers Reitz -- who has sought a judicial seat before -- a one-issue candidate.

"It was a big tragedy as to what happened to the 9-year-old girl," Carter said. "No one feels worse than I do."

In December 2003, Farnsworth asked the court for sole custody of his estranged girlfriend's 9-year-old daughter, as well as two younger girls the couple had in common.

The woman, who moved several hours away, wanted joint custody but did not object that the girls continue to live with Farnsworth, according to the court documents.

"She came in supporting the concept," Carter said.

But Farnsworth had a history. At the time, he had nearly completed 10 years of probation for raping a 13-year-old girl in Carver County. He'd served six months in jail for that crime.

Reitz acknowledged that even with the conviction, Farnsworth may have looked like the more stable parent.

Farnsworth was working, had several children and, until a paternity test came back negative, it was unclear whether he was also the 9-year-old's father. The mother did not have a permanent home, job or transportation and had walked out on the family many times.

Carter awarded Farnsworth and the woman joint legal and physical custody of the younger two children in May 2004 and of the oldest girl in October 2004. He ordered that the kids reside primarily with Farnsworth in Hastings.

Reitz maintains there was no one to speak on behalf of the child. He said Carter should have appointed a guardian ad litem -- a social worker or courtroom advocate -- to represent the child's interests.

"Judge Carter did not break the law; Justin Farnsworth did that," Reitz wrote on his campaign Web site. "But Judge Carter failed to protect this girl at the moment when she most needed the law's protection."

Instead of a guardian ad litem, Carter appointed a custody evaluator. He said he chose David Jaehne, a West St. Paul attorney with experience working as a guardian ad litem, because he thought Jaehne represented "the best of both worlds."

Court funding was in crisis at the time, Carter said. And the state Supreme Court was reorganizing the guardians ad litem under one centralized jurisdiction and clarifying the roles of guardians and evaluators.

In April 2004, Jaehne told Carter in writing that the mother had at times lived with one of the children in her car. He also made note of Farnsworth's rape conviction, which occurred when he was 19.

"No safety issue is identified regarding the children," Jaehne wrote, "particularly in response to (their mother) not having an issue with it."

Jaehne also noted that the children "at present time ... feel they have a safer living situation with their father."

With news of the rape, the Farnsworth case drew public outcry. Lawmakers enacted a 2005 law that would make many offenders who reoffend eligible for life in prison. Another new law all but bars convicted sex offenders from prevailing in child-custody proceedings.

Despite the tragic outcome of the situation, some attorneys have reservations about Reitz's candidacy.

"I'm not happy with the approach," said Tom Plunkett, a St. Paul-based defense attorney and Carter supporter. "Somebody attacking a sitting judge -- who has probably handled 50,000 cases in his tenure -- based on one case?"

Of Carter, he said: "He's a good judge, and we need more like him."

In August, the Dakota County Bar Association polled its 153 members. The lawyers returned 73 votes for Carter and six for Reitz. Three ballots were rejected. A smaller poll conducted by the Minnesota State Bar Association produced a similar result, with 43 votes for Carter, four for Reitz.

Reitz said Farnsworth "manipulated the legal system to gain legal custody of his sexual victim. ... You have to look at the process, as well as the outcome. ... I feel that it's essential that the decision be given to the voters."

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