ST. PAUL — A panel of judges has approved the discharge of a 64-year-old pedophile from Minnesota’s Sex Offender program.

The three judges issued a formal order Friday granting a provisional discharge for Clarence Opheim. That came after there were no objections from prosecutors or the state Department of Human Services.

Opheim has been in Minnesota’s Sex Offender program for nearly 19 years. No one has been discharged from the program since it began in the mid-1990s.

Opheim’s attorney, William Lubov, says his client recognizes he “carries a heavy burden, not only for himself but others in the program.”

Opheim is expected to move to a halfway house in the Twin Cities in the next few weeks. He will have to wear an electronic ankle-bracelet and attend frequent Alcoholic Anonymous meetings.