An early suspect

Posted by joy.the.curious on Dec 27, 2014 in Jacob | 6 comments

On January 24, 1990, three months after Jacob Wetterling’s abduction from St. Joseph, Minnesota, 42 year old Duane Allen Hart was arrested at a potato farm near Brooten, Minnesota. He was charged with sexually molesting two boys during the summer of 1987 and the fall of 1989 and was held on $100,000 bail in the Kandiyohi County Jail.

Later that spring, four more young men came forward, and Hart was convicted on six counts of criminal sexual conduct. He pled guilty, and was sentenced to 52 months in prison for his crimes in Kandiyohi County, and 64 months for his crimes in Stearns County. He was transferred to the Minnesota Correctional Facility at Lino Lakes.

Of course, the question on everyone’s mind at the time was whether Duane Hart had anything to do with the abduction of Jacob Wetterling.

The Paynesville Press reported Hart’s arrest on January 30, 1990:

Duane Hart, a Paynesville native, was arrested last week near Belgrade and
charged in Kandiyohi County Court for molesting boys.

The arrest stemmed from investigations by the Jacob Wetterling Task Force, but Kandiyohi County Sheriff Larry Kleinhuizen said last Friday that charges against Hart were not connected with the Jacob Wettlerling abduction. According to Byron Gigler, an FBI spokesman, there remains no known connection between Hart and the Wetterling case.

It was also reported in the same article that no known link had yet been established between Hart and the 1986-1987 Paynesville incidents:

So far, Hart has not been connected to the five different incidents of a man accosting Paynesville boys in 1987, Kleinhuizen said. The boys assaulted in those incidents ranged from 12 to 16 years of age. The man doing the accosting in those incidents was reported by Paynesville Police to be about 5′-10″ tall, not fat, but chunky. He always wore dark or black clothing and none of the boys accosted were able to see the man’s face. In some instances, the man wore a ski mask.”

From this article, it’s clear to see that Hart was considered an early suspect in both the Wetterling case and the Paynesville incidents, but for obvious reasons, he was also an early suspect in Jared’s case. Because of this, the Kandiyohi County judge in charge of Duane Hart’s case ordered that no cameras be allowed in the courtroom during his arraignment and no photos of him released to the media. The judge did not want to take a chance that Jared’s memory might be skewed when Hart was placed in front of him during a lineup. So, for that reason, no photo of Duane Allen Hart has ever appeared in public.

Until now.

Mugshot of Duane Allen Hart, arrested January 24, 1990 for molesting boys

Duane “Dewey” Hart is a predator and a psychopath. I have talked to his victims, and I know the kind of hold he had on them. For some, this pattern of abuse lasted for years, from the time they were very young (7-9 years old) until they were in their young teens. They were terrified of him.

When Jacob Wetterling was abducted on October 22, 1989, six brave young men came forward to share their stories of abuse. Because of their statements, Duane Hart entered a plea agreement with prosecutors to avert a public trial. He was locked away on May 29, 1990.

Less than three years later, Duane Hart was due for release on his Kandiyohi County sentence on April 10, 1993, and with good time, would complete his Stearns County sentence on December 10, 1993. To prevent his release, a referral was sent by the Minnesota Department of Corrections to the Kandiyohi County Attorney for consideration for judicial commitment. Once again, Hart’s victims were called upon to testify against him.

The trial took place on June 7, 1994. Again, all six victims came forward and shared their stories of abuse. They testified via closed circuit TV, from a separate room outside the court room, so none of Hart’s victims would have to sit in the same room as him.

On March 16, 1995, after a lengthy appeal process, Duane Allen Hart was committed as a psychopathic personality to the Minnesota Sexual Offender Program (MSOP). He remains civilly-committed to the MSOP at Moose Lake to this day.

The story doesn’t end there, however. On January 7, 2011, Duane Hart became one of several plaintiffs who brought a class-action lawsuit against the State of Minnesota, challenging the constitutionality of the Minnesota Sexual Offender Program and its treatment of sex offenders. They claim their rights are being violated because the program keeps sex offenders locked up indefinitely, after they have already completed their prison sentences. And, of nearly 700 sex offenders who have been civilly committed to MSOP, only one has ever been successfully released… with provisions… and that was 20 years ago, in 1994.

After four years, the lawsuit is now heading to a federal trial that has been set for February 9, 2015. The outcome will determine the constitutionality of the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP).

Google it to learn more.

I should make it clear that law enforcement is well aware of Duane Hart and his lengthy criminal history. I am not sharing any new information here. My intention with this article is simply to share Hart’s photo with the public since it has never been released before.

Again, if anyone has a tip on Jacob’s case, Jared’s case, or the 1986-1989 Paynesville incidents, please call the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office (320) 259-3700 or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST.

6 Comments

1. Stacey | December 27, 2014 at 11:57 am

   I hope this brings in more information. Thanks for all you work on this Joy, it amazing all the information you have linked together

2. Tambre | December 27, 2014 at 3:38 pm

   Thank you for keeping on top of this story….as young parents in St. Cloud during the time that Jacob was abducted, this had deep impact on us; Jacob was everyone’s son.

   I’m not sure if you’ve heard of the podcast “Serial”, but I recently started listening to it after seeing a lot of news and interest surrounding it. Because of the national attention that the podcast has received, I wondered if you had thought of creating something similar with all the information you’ve gathered….it might give wider, more renewed exposure to Jacob’s disappearance that may lead to more information coming to light.

   Thank you again Joy for all your hard work.

3. Cindy Larson | December 27, 2014 at 7:55 pm

   Thank you Joy.

4. Sherri | December 28, 2014 at 2:06 pm

   Thank-you for sharing this information, I still pray to this day that there will be answers for the Wetterlings. They have been living everyone’s worst nightmare for so long. It is heartbreaking, I hope every piece of information is reexamined for as long as it takes. God bless you dear Jacob, and thanks to people like Joy who help share information like this. I have never heard anything of this person before, or the horrific things he did to innocent young boys. If anyone out there has any information I hope they step forward and share it.

5. Kyle Hanson | May 28, 2015 at 12:50 pm

   Did we ever find out where DAH was living or had an alibi on the night of Jacob’s abduction?

6. anonymous | October 2, 2015 at 1:20 pm

   Did he have a low raspy voice?