BISMARCK - By the time Lloyd Hall was convicted two years ago of molesting three young girls, authorities say, the 80-year-old had victimized more than 50 people during a life spent as a sexual abuser.

Jason Gores' only sex conviction is listed on a state database as indecent exposure, but officials say the 19-year-old has a history of unpunished sex offenses and treatment program failures.

Hall and Gores are among the 11 men being held indefinitely in the State Hospital in Jamestown under a law meant to keep the worst sexual predators away from society.

The law, approved by the Legislature in 1997, allows people considered to be sexually dangerous by at least two experts to be committed indefinitely. They need not be convicted of a crime, and they can be held after any prison sentence is completed.

Commitment laws for sex offenders are under scrutiny after the disappearance of UND student Dru Sjodin, who authorities believe was abducted from a shopping mall in Grand Forks.

Alfonso Rodriguez Jr., the 50-year-old convicted rapist charged with kidnapping in the case, was considered for indefinite commitment in Minnesota. He was released from prison in May after serving a 23-year sentence for attempted kidnapping, assault and other convictions for attempted rape and aggravated rape.

1,300 registered

North Dakota has more than 1,300 registered sex offenders, with about 180 considered the most likely to commit another sex crime. All sex offenders must register their whereabouts with authorities for 10 years. Some - such as repeat offenders or those committed by the state - must register for life.

A state Web site lists information about lifetime registrants and offenders considered the most likely to commit another sex crime.

In the wake of the Sjodin case, Gov. John Hoeven said officials are reviewing North Dakota's commitment procedures, as well as what information they may demand from authorities in other states about sex offenders who move to North Dakota.

Those held in Jamestown "are people that really just belong away from society," Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said. Some sex offenders even admit they should not be released, he said. "We had a guy who was in (the penitentiary) who says, 'If you don't lock me up, I will re-offend,'" Stenehjem said.

Offenders committed to the state psychiatric hospital in Jamestown may be released after completing treatment, but none of the men sent to Jamestown in the past six years has left or been considered for release, said Alex Schweitzer, the hospital's administrator.

Experts who recommend sexual predators for commitment must first determine the person has a mental illness that makes that person likely to commit sex crimes.

Authorities then use a battery of formulas to calculate the risk to society if the offender is at large.

Once committed, offenders begin a treatment program that costs $100,000 per year for each person.

"It's a long-term program ... in order to get to the confidence level where we think they could function back in society," Schweitzer said.

Schweitzer said prosecutors have begun using the civil commitment provision more frequently in recent years. Three offenders are being evaluated for commitment, and hospital officials estimate more will in the next year.

At first, some feared prosecutors would use the law to lock up suspected sex offenders instead of trying to convict them of crimes because the civil proceeding requires a lower level of proof. However, Bismarck attorney Todd Schulz, who has experience with the commitment law as a public defender, said North Dakota authorities have shown good judgment.