Dear friends:

I have these questions and please provide me with any information you have. I really appreciate your help!

As one of those unfortunately wrongfully convicted sex offenders, I got one year probation after serving 7 days in jail. I'm now in the appealing process and have a public defender working for me since I'm already indigent thanks to the expensive while useless lawyer I had for my trial. I’m here in Iowa but my wife is working in another state. According to the interstate compact, I’m qualified to have my probation transferred to that state. They have no reason to reject my transfer.

I’m going to start my transfer application. My PO urged me to have my first polygraph test. I know I’m very easy to get nervous so I’d rather not have such tests. I learned that in the state I'm trying to transfer to, they don’t require poly test for this kind of crime. My PO just wanna use the poly test to get from me whatever confession they’d like to hear, before I get the chance to leave Iowa. He suggested if I totally comply and tell them all the “truth”, then there should be no further problem. Otherwise, if I still insist I’m innocent while unfortunately fail the test, they would ask the judge to send me back to jail, since I’m not showing remorse to what they believe I did. I have these questions:

1. I’ve never heard that anybody went back to jail simply because of failing the poly test. Is this really gonna happen if I fail the test? Or is my PO just trying to threaten me to tell them what they are happy to hear?
2. I’m appealing, of course because I believe I’m innocent. If I “confess” to them, what is the sense of my appealing? 
3. Is there any code saying that I’m required to take a poly test in Iowa after found guilty?
4. Can I have my attorney (in this case my public defender) staying with me during the test, if I can’t avoid it at all? 

Thanks again for your advice!

Sincerely,

Jesse

Guilty or not, you now belong to a very select class of criminals, where everything in the sytem is "to you," not "for you." You can respectfully disagree with your PO, but as mentioned, don't get crosswise with him/her. If you do (and even if you don't), you'll find out what "power and control" really means by experiencing it on the receiving end.

The legal system is screwed up in lots of ways, one of which is where the Court (typically) doesn't allow polygraph results to be used as evidence, but at the same, imposes a sentence that indirectly supports the use of the polygraph. If your T&C includes successful completion of a treatment program, you can pretty much bet the farm that successful completion includes passing maintenance and history exams. Again, your mileage may vary, but that is the general nature of things.