Springfield Man Commited As Sexually Violent Predator:

A man from Springfield has been committed to the state mental health prison as a sexually violent predator.

Judge Dan Conklin sent 55-year-old Richard Berg to the Missouri Sexual Offender Rehabilitation and Treatment Center in Farmington.

In 2000, Berg pleaded to guilty to sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy and was sentenced to five years in prison. The Missouri Attorney General's Office has worked to commit Berg as a sexually violent predator."It is critical that we keep those who could commit further violent sexual acts off the streets and away from those they could harm," Attorney General Chris Koster said. "As sexually violent predators, these offenders can get the help they need, and the community will be protected."

Currently their are 135 sexually violent predators committed in Missouri, with 23 of those having occurred this year.

Those committed by the court as sexually violent predators are placed in the custody of the Missouri Department of Mental Health. They have the right to have their cases reviewed annually to determine if their mental abnormality has changed, making them unlikely to commit further acts of sexual violence if released.