20-Year-Old Massachusetts Man With Developmental Disabilities Remains In Jail, In Limbo As Case Pends

For the past year and a half, 20-year-old Jonathan Jutras, who has a developmental disability, has been held without bail at Middleton Jail, accused of indecently assaulting three boys at a playground in Beverly. While in custody, Jutras has come down with multiple illnesses, including COVID-19, and has reportedly been harassed by others in custody. Dutras' case is raising questions about how the state's criminal justice system handles those with disabilities. GBH All Things Considered host Arun Rath spoke with Salem News reporter Julie Manganis, who's been covering the case. This transcript has been edited for clarity.

Arun Rath: Take us back to how all of this got started. What is Dutras accused of doing?

Julie Manganis: He is accused of indecently assaulting three young boys, between the ages of 8 and 11, at a playground in Beverly. He is charged with basically trying to force the boys to pull their pants down, and then with inappropriately having contact with them.

Rath: Jutras is an adult, he's 20 years old, but he has developmental disabilities that mean he does not function like a typical 20-year-old who does not have disabilities. Could you tell us in some more detail what he's dealing with and what that's meant for him and his family?

Manganis: He has multiple diagnoses. He has a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, he is on the autism spectrum, and he has some physical limitations because he was born, I believe, three months premature. He has some lung issues and he functions at least emotionally at the same level as these boys, at about the 9- to 10-year-old level. He tends to want to associate with them. There may be other things going on, but he doesn't have an easy time dealing with people his own age, so that's been a problem. Now, of course, this is a much more serious situation that he's found himself in.

Rath: Do we know why he would be put in jail with the general population as opposed to some other facility?

Manganis: He was sent to a hospital for evaluation, but he doesn't necessarily meet the criteria for hospitalization at this point. But going back to the jail isn't a good fit for him, either.

The problem is that there really aren't a lot of options in between, such as a supervised group home. That's what his lawyer was trying to find for him. Unfortunately, because of the conflict between his family and the attorney, there's been a lot of disagreement over which group home he would go to. There's also a lack of available places in these group homes. He needs a level of security beyond what most group homes will offer. The ones that are available are sometimes a distance away or they have other issues that impact the family, too.

Rath: What's life like for him in jail?

Manganis: I'm told that he has had a recurring skin infection. They haven't been able to really get a handle on it. He has had COVID-19, which is a concern because of his underlying lung condition. And because he's smaller and less mature, he tends to find himself being bullied and exploited by other, more savvy folks over there. So it hasn't been easy for him.

Rath: Tell us more about the conflict between his parents and his lawyer that have resulted in the situation.

Manganis: One of the problems is that his mother is very protective of him, and she heard that he was being considered for what's called a forensic group home. There are other people in that group home who have some serious criminal charges against them, but for one reason or another, either haven't been able to be tried or have been adjudicated and gotten some type of probation. She's concerned about him being in that facility and not being able to fend for himself there and not getting services. His lawyer said that really there are no perfect options, and even if it's not the ideal place for him, it's better than where he is now. So the lawyer was advocating for him to go to that group home. Unfortunately, as they were debating this, the spot was given to someone else.

Rath: Even going beyond the reasons for him being in jail, a year and a half seems like a long time. That means that it goes back to before the pandemic. Why has it not been resolved?

Manganis: Like a lot of cases, it's been basically put on hold. The other complication here is that he has been found to be not competent, so he can't participate in proceedings to resolve the case, which is another issue. He's kind of in this legal limbo, and the district attorney is concerned about public safety, so they don't want to necessarily drop the case. His lawyer can't really proceed in court without his ability to participate. Then COVID-19 came along and a lot of the proceedings ended up being delayed.

Rath: In the course of your reporting, have you interviewed Jonathan Jutras?

Manganis: I wasn't able to interview him directly. Part of the reason is because he's had various placements in the jail, and part of it is I think there's a concern on the part of his lawyer that he would potentially say something that could hurt his case. Based on reports from his family members, he's not doing well.

Rath: You talked about the particulars of this case that have led to the situation. Also, we are in a pandemic which is unprecedented. But is this case, for those reasons, very much an outlier, or have you seen other situations like this in our criminal justice system?

Manganis: I haven't seen other cases that are specifically like this one, but I have seen cases of people who are clearly in need of services that they can't receive at the jail, who have mental health issues or developmental issues, who are involved in the courts for one reason or another and can't get the services that they need.

Rath: Do we have any sense of when there might be resolution? Is there any resolution in sight for this case of Jonathan Jutras?

Manganis: For this case, I don't think the criminal case is going anywhere at this point, for now, but there is a possible placement for him. According to his mother, there may be an opening at a program in January that would be more appropriate for him. So she's on board with that. There have also been some developments in terms of her role in the case, so there may be some progress now because the case is now starting to get a little bit of attention in court. The judges and court staff are looking at it and saying, This case is a year and a half old. What are we doing with it?