U.S. Appeals Court Rules Agaisnt Arousal Test for Convicted Sex Offender

A U.S. appellate court ruled Tuesday against subjecting a convicted sex offender to periodic arousal tests that would measure his response to erotic images because it would unreasonably deprive him of his freedom.

The court found that penile plethysmograph tests, that involves a pressure-sensitive device used to monitor a man’s response to sexual images is “Orwellian” because it probes into the sex offender’s “innermost thoughts” as well as measures his genitalia.

Matthew Weber, who was convicted of possessing child pornography on his computer, was sentenced to 27 months in prison and three years of parole. After his release, Weber and is attorney Jonathan Libby rejected the penile plethysmograph test, which is used as part of treatment programs for sex offenders and appealed the ruling.

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with Weber stating that the test would infringe on his right to liberty more than “was reasonably necessary.”

Weber argued that the test should only be used for sex offenders who molested children or attempted to do so. However, Tuesday’s ruling does not prohibit the test from being used in other cases.

Weber’s attorney Libby said that 9th Circuit Judge John Noonan’s written statement of the court’s ruling indicates that the arousal test may eventually be outlawed.

“A prisoner should not be compelled to stimulate himself sexually in order for the government to get a sense of his current proclivities,” Noonan wrote. “There is a line at which the government must stop. Penile plethysmography testing crosses it.” 

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