[¶ 1] Defendant William King appeals from a judgment entered in the Superior Court (Androscoggin County, Calkins, J.) convicting him of unlawful sexual contact (17-A M.R.S.A. § 255 (Supp.1996)). Defendant argues that a probation condition, imposed as part of his sentence, prohibiting contact with children under the age of sixteen without the permission of his probation officer is illegal and violates his due process rights. Finding no error, we affirm the judgment.
[¶ 2] Defendant argues specifically that the Superior Court exceeded its authority in imposing a probation condition that prohibits contact even with his own children without the prior consent of his probation officer. He cites our decision in
State v. Coreau,
[¶ 3] The court’s power to impose conditions of probation is governed by 17-A M.R.S.A. § 1204 (1983 & Supp.1996). That section provides in relevant part as follows:
1. [The court] shall attach such conditions of probation, as authorized by this section, as it deems to be reasonable and appropriate to assist the convicted person to lead a law-abiding life_
2-A. As a condition of probation, the court in its sentence may require the convicted person:
M. To satisfy any other conditions reasonably related to the rehabilitation of the convicted person or the public safety or security.
[¶ 4] In
Corean,
we held that the sentencing court abused its discretion by imposing a “no contact” provision as part of its sentence.
[¶ 5] We then considered that the probation condition prohibited Coreau from having even supervised contact with his children and held that this element of the probation condition was “well beyond the language of 17-A M.R.S.A. § 1204 and the purposes of probation.” Id. There was no evidence that Co-reau abused any of his own children or that his presence would be psychologically damaging to them. His wife had testified that he was a good parent and that she intended to remain married to him. Supervised contact, we stated:
[e]liminates the risk of future abuse while at the same time increasing the chances that the family will remain intact... .The prohibition of any contact unnecessarily punishes his children by depriving them of nonthreatening, supervised contact with their father and jeopardizes their opportunity to benefit from a stable, two-parent home environment... .Moreover, such a punitive condition does nothing to further Coreau’s rehabilitation and reintegration into society.
Id. at 321-322.
[¶ 6] The propriety of any given probation condition depends heavily on the facts of the case before the court.
State v. Smith,
[¶ 7] The probation condition in the present case also differs from that in
Coreau.
It does not flatly prohibit contact between defendant and his
children
but permits contact with the approval of a probation officer. This condition is similar to a requirement of supervision. It permits contact when appropriate but protects the children.
See Coreau,
[¶ 8] Defendant’s remaining argument is without merit. His due process rights were amply protected by the sentencing procedures in this case. Defendant was given notice of the possible imposition of the condition and was provided with an opportunity to be heard at the time the sentence was imposed. Id. at 320 n. 2.
The entry is:
Judgment affirmed.
