Michael Thomas Rafferty Case Summary

Michael Thomas Rafferty is a 28-year-old male who has been accused of first-degree murder, sexual assault causing bodily harm, and kidnapping. This risk assessment report is for his pre-trial hearing, by request, in order to determine risk level and risk management. Methods of assessment included a Static-99R assessment and a Risk for Sexual Violence Protocol (RSVP) assessment on Mr. Rafferty. The sources of information reviewed were: Murderpedia, Huffington Post, City News, The Star, and Canoe. These were all online sources.

On April 8th, 2009, allegedly, the accused, Micheal T. Rafferty, urged Terri-Lynne McClintic to kidnap a 8-year-old girl, Victoria (Tori) Stafford, from outside her school for him by inviting the girl to see a puppy.

Once Ms. McClintic threw the young girl into the vehicle, they stopped at a store to purchase some garbage bags and a hammer. Mr. Rafferty then, allegedly, violently sexually assaulted the girl in the back seat once they drove to a remote area. Soon after, Mr. Rafferty, allegedly, threw Tori to the ground where Ms. McClintic started kicking her, someone put a bag on her head, and Ms. McClintic (and possibly Mr. Rafferty) hit her in the head with the hammer numerous times. The couple then cleaned up and disposed of Victoria Stafford in garbage bags and buried her in rocks to hide the body.

Mr. Micheal Rafferty has no prior charges or convictions. This includes, but is not limited to non-sexual violence, sex offences, and non-contact sex offences. However, although he has not been convicted, Mr. Rafferty's pervious partners have publicly disclosed information that could have lead to a charge or conviction if they intended to do so. It is also known that Mr. Rafferty has forced a past girlfriend to be a sex worker and pay him, and, he has been described as having "aggressive sexual interest" and being aroused by "torture sex" as well as "angry and rough sex". With this, Mr. Rafferty may have previously used psychological coercion in sexual violence based on what he has forced past partners into, specifically, the sex worker scenario mentioned above. These factors could put him at risk for future psychological and/or physical coercion in sexual violence, and an escalation and chronicity of sexual violence in the future.
When it comes to non-sexual criminality, although he was never caught, Mr. Rafferty has carried out minor crimes (such as stealing $2000). As far as victims go, since Mr. Rafferty has no prior charges or convictions, he had no victims as far as the legal system is concerned. However, the victim of the crimes he allegedly committed was unrelated and a stranger, which could put him at a higher risk level and concern his risk management. Overall, Mr. Rafferty's risk level is moderate when it comes to prior charges and convictions, and victims.

Mr. Micheal Rafferty has some known psychological and social adjustment problems, and mental disorders. When it comes to psychological adjustment, there is evidence that Mr. Rafferty has problems with stress and coping. This is shown with his break ups (especially recent ones), financial situation, and most recently, the possibility of him going to prison. It is believed that his sexual deviance could be a result of a break-up. With these, he does not seem to have problems with self-awareness, or problems with substance use. It may be concerning though that Mr. Rafferty does have an extreme minimization or denial of sexual violence. When the crimes in question are discussed, he denies sexual violence all together. This could be due to him denying the claims made, and not the sexual violence specifically though. Record has shown however, that he has fantasized about torturing, enjoys torture sex, and has aggressive sexual interests. These could put him at a very high risk level. Finally, as far as psychological adjustment is concerned, Mr. Rafferty does not have problems resulting from child abuse.
Social adjustment problems are an area of concern when considering Mr. Rafferty's risk level and risk management as well. It is unknown whether or no he has problems with non-intimate relationships, but, his intimate relationships are problematic. As it has been mentioned before, Mr. Rafferty has had continuing problems with past partners. No only does this include him making a past partner of his a sex worker, he has also been called "promiscuous", a "cheater", and a "womanizer". His past partners have also described him as having a "secretive personality". However, even through he has problems with intimate relationships, there is possible evidence that he has liven with past lovers before, and this could have even extended past 2 years. This little evidence could lower his risk level. There is also evidence that Mr. Rafferty has had many past and present problems with employment. He does not stay employed long. A big concern when it comes to Mr. Rafferty's social adjustment is his non-sexual criminality. Although he has never been caught, it has been on record that he has been involved in minor crimes. He escalation from minor crimes to a possible murder, kidnapping, and sexual assault is cause for major concern.
Finally, Mr. Rafferty shows signs of mental disorders. Although he has not been diagnosed, Mr. Rafferty shows problems with substance use, specifically party drugs. It has also been on record that he has had problems with oxycontin. This substance use raises concerns and could be due to his stress and coping. Another major concern is his sexual deviance. Sexual deviance is considered, for most, as a mental disorder. For Mr. Rafferty, sexual deviance has been shown in numerous ways. This includes disclosures for previous partners saying that he enjoys torture, has aggressive sexual interests, and has watched child porn. The child porn and aggressive sexual interests is the biggest concern here. Other mental disorders are unknown. Psychopathic personality disorder, and major mental illnesses were not evaluated. Mr. Rafferty's reckless behaviour may put him at risk for violent or suicidal ideation though.

Mr. Rafferty has no known problems with treatment or with supervision. There was not enough information given in order to determine these. He does appear to have problems with planning though. This is apparent because of his lack of planning for the future, like being able to continue a job, or plan his actions before he acts on them. When it comes to the crimes in question, if Mr. Rafferty did commit them, the murder and disposal of the body would be an example of poor planning, considering he allegedly planned how to kidnap a child (and possibly sexually assault her), but did not consider much beyond that. Other considerations to Mr. Rafferty's risk assessment involving risk level and risk management would include that he refused to cooperate with law enforcement or accept responsibility to the alleged crimes he committed. With this, although there is evidence against him, he refuses to pled guilty and claims that the whole "story" of the crimes are one big lie and that Terri-Lynne McClintic made it all up.

Mr.

Rafferty results on the Static-99R and the RSVP (Risk for Sexual Violence Protocol) assessments revealed fairly different results, but they were similar in certain areas. Overall, Mr. Micheal Rafferty scored a low-moderate risk level on the Static-99R, and a high/urgent risk level on the RSVP assessment. The reason Mr. Rafferty scored a low to moderate risk on the Static-99R was because it mainly took into consideration conviction, and victims. Since Micheal did not have any prior convictions or charges, this tremendously lowered his risk. Also, since he had never previously been incarcerated, sections about sentencing dates and age of release did not apply to him. When it came to the victim section though, his risk level did increase a bit because of his apparent victim; she was both unrelated, and a stranger to Mr. Rafferty. These factors are why I believe that Mr. Rafferty is at a low-moderate risk level for this

assessment.
With the RSVP assessment, Mr. Rafferty had a much higher risk level because it took into account sexual violence, social and psychological adjustment, and mental disorders (which includes sexual deviance.) Sections of the sexual violence history that increased his risk the most were "escalation of sexual violence" and "physical coercion in sexual violence." When it comes to psychological adjustment, Mr. Rafferty's problems with stress or coping was the main concern. The next section, mental disorder, included sexual deviance, which Mr. Rafferty has definite problems with. There is evidence that makes this extremely concerning, however, his lack of disorders and/or mental illnesses have lowered his risk slightly. This section also includes substance use, which has increased his risk level. Mr. Rafferty's social adjustment revealed that he does have problems with intimate relationships, and employment. These both increase his risk level, as well as his non-sexual criminality. Finally, when it comes to manageability and other considerations, Mr. Rafferty's risk level could be argued to be lower because he does not have problems with treatment or with supervision, as far as I am aware. All of these factors are why I believe that this assessment puts him at a high/urgent risk level.
The two assessments differ greatly, specifically in what they look and and the depth they go into. However, I believe, that with the knowledge I have, Mr. Micheal Rafferty is at an overall moderate-high risk level and his case should have an elevated prioritization. I believe this because the RSVP risk level rating is more appropriate for Mr. Rafferty, and even though he has numerous concerning sections, there are a few that are not concerning or that I believe lower his overall risk. I also believe that Mr. Rafferty is at a moderate risk for future sexual violence and immediate action is required. The circumstances in this case should be scheduled for a routine review and possibly a special review if he is found not-guilty.
Risk management for Mr.

Micheal Rafferty's case, if he is considered not-guilty, should include a routine review and a special review in order to protect the public and protect him, since he participates in reckless behaviour. Specific things that should trigger a re-assessment should include any suspected or reported abuse of partners, suspected or reported lingering around schools, parks, or any other common area for children to frequent without supervision, and/or suspected or reported criminal activity, including, but not limited to child pornography. In order to monitor these, surveillance should be regularly conducted in order to monitor Mr. Raffery's movement and activity. His movement and activity should also be limited to within the country unless there are extenuating circumstances which can be documented in advance. Treatment should also be considered in order to manage the risk posed by Mr. Rafferty. With all this, if Mr. Rafferty does not show any signs within 5 years, his should be considered for a re-evaluation and his risk management should be reconsidered. Overall, it should also be considered that this opinion is limited because this is based on pre-trial information and there is quite a bit of information that is unavailable or missing, specifically psychological evaluations and family history. Details of this case may change during Mr. Micheal Rafferty's

pre-trial.