It will cost about

$1,100 to return

Dwight Lindblom

cross-country to Portland, Ore.

PORTLAND (AP) – A sex offender who violated his parole in Portland, Ore., by moving to Portland, Maine, is finally headed home.

On Tuesday, Cumberland County District Attorney Stephanie Anderson dismissed three misdemeanor charges against Dwight Lindblom, a transient with a history of sex crimes, to clear the way for his return to Oregon.

Anderson authorized the county to pay approximately $1,100 for his return trip after Oregon officials balked at the cost.

U.S. Marshals came Wednesday for Lindblom, 53, who was being held in Cumberland County Jail as a federal detainee. Chief Deputy John Cooper of the U.S. Marshal’s Service said his agency will transport Lindblom from Maine to Oregon.

Lindblom must be returned to Oregon within 60 days.

Anderson predicted that it may not be the last time the county finds itself with a prisoner that another state doesn’t want.

“I think that it’s indicative of a problem states are having with budgets,” she said. “All the states are in a budget crisis, and they are forced to make these kinds of choices.”

Lindblom served time in prison on a rape conviction, and was on parole in a burglary case when he came to Maine in September. He violated the terms of his parole by not reporting his move from Oregon, and broke Maine law by not reporting himself as a sex offender here, authorities said.

Lindblom was arrested in Maine in October for harassing a woman in a supermarket.

While Maine officials pushed and begged their Oregon counterparts to take him back, Oregon officials balked at paying to transport him back to serve out his prison term.

Although Lindblom’s offenses were relatively minor, Anderson and Portland Police Chief Michael Chitwood argued that his past actions showed that he was a serious threat to the community.

AP-ES-02-04-04 1119EST