A convicted sex offender whose thoughts and fantasies about children prompted authorities to revoke his parole two years ago now faces indefinite secure commitment for treatment after a jury verdict Thursday branded him a so-called sexual predator in a case that added a new dimension to the 13-year-old law.

"He didn't commit any crimes while he was out," attorney Steven Prifogle said of his client Michael Monyelle. "This whole process got started after he told them what he was thinking."

The verdict, according to Prifogle, could dissuade sex offenders in the community from cooperating with the people who supervise and treat them.

But the prosecutor, Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Gabrysiak, had told the jury Monyelle "has a problem and his problem needs to be addressed."