Persons who are deemed to be sexually violent predators may be civilly committed under the Sexually Violent Predators Act (SVPA). N.J.S.A. 30:4-27.24 to -27.38. This basically allows the State to keep a sex offender confined indefinitely, even after they have served their sentence.
The State must establish by clear and convincing evidence that the person has behaved in a sexually violent manner in the past and is highly likely to reoffend in the future as a result of a mental abnormality or personality disorder that affects the individual's emotional, cognitive or volitional capacity. In re Commitment of W.Z., 173 N.J. 109, 120 (2002); N.J.S.A. 30:4-27.26.
