Madison police issued an official warning Tuesday to city residents about the release of one of the state's most violent sexual criminals.

According to court documents, Lindon Knutson, 58, has reportedly raped 10 females, including nine juveniles.

Knutson's most recent conviction came in 1994 for raping a juvenile whom he followed home after her shift at a drive-in theater.

The MPD does not usually issue citywide reports when a sexual offender is released. However, the department decided to make an exception for Knutson, who is being released because he has served his allotted criminal sentence.

"Due to his past and what his crimes all entailed, we think there is a concern and that the community should be aware of this person being released from confinement," said Mike Hanson, public information officer for the MPD.

Of the more than 19,000 registered sex offenders in Wisconsin, 5,000 are out on active community supervision. Of those, only 17 are like Knutson and categorized as a "sexually violent person," said Melissa Roberts, director of sex offender programs at the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.

Roberts added the nature of Knutson's crimes — such as most of his victims being strangers to him — played a factor in the decision to issue a warning to the community.

"He has multiple victims," Roberts said. "Certainly, the fact that those victims were juvenile increases his risk, and all of those issues played a factor into this decision."

Knutson has completed every day of his criminal sentence and attended in-patient treatment, Roberts said. Individuals who have completed these programs can petition the court for supervised release to the community.

However, the police are selective in choosing when to notify the public about the release of a sex offender.

Hanson said this is not to protect the privacy of the offender, but rather to emphasize the importance and danger of certain criminal releases.

"If we only point out the ones where we're highly concerned or feel the community should notice, it has more meaning," Hanson said.

Roberts agreed that police should choose carefully when to warn citizens about the release of a sex offender.

"The intent of the community notification laws in Wisconsin is to highlight the most dangerous cases," Roberts said. "If we were to do notification on every single one of those cases, there certainly is this saturation effect."

The police also do not issue public notifications about sex offenders because many of them are still under the supervision of the Department of Correction, both Roberts and Hanson added.

A veteran of the Vietnam War, Knutson's first incident of sexual assault occurred against a female Vietnamese prisoner. Knutson was later treated for post-traumatic stress disorder at a veteran's hospital stemming from his experiences in Vietnam.

Knutson has also received psychological treatment at the Madison-area Mendota Mental Health Institute. He escaped from the MMHI in 1977, but was later apprehended when he attempted to abduct a 16-year-old girl.

If Knutson — who will be under 24-hour electronic monitoring — violates any conditions of his release, the MPD said he would be taken back into custody.