Sexually Violent Predators

Washington has some of the strongest sex offender registration and notification laws in the nation and was the first state to implement involuntary civil commitment for the most dangerous sexual predators.

Every year about 800 sex offenders return to the community upon completion of their criminal sentences– including about 200 Level 3 sex offenders. Before their release, these offenders undergo a review to determine whether or not they should be referred for possible civil commitment to the McNeil Island Special Commitment Center (SCC) as a sexually violent predator.

Washington law defines an SVP as any person:

• Who has been convicted of or charged with a crime of sexual violence; and
• Who suffers from a mental abnormality or personality disorder;
• Which makes the person likely to engage in predatory acts of sexual violence if not confined in a secure facility.

If a judge finds offenders meet this criteria, they are held indefinitely at the SCC until their mental condition improves such that they may be released into society.

There are now roughly 220 offenders at the Special Commitment Center on McNeil Island.

The AGO’s Sexually Violent Predator Unit was created following the enactment of this law and is responsible for prosecuting sex predator cases for 38 of Washington’s 39 counties (King County being the exception). The expertise of the unit permits it to handle all aspects of sex predator cases, including pre-filing investigations, pre-trial motion practice, trial, post-commitment proceedings and appeals.

The 24 sexually violent predators for whom the SVP Unit petitioned for civil commitment in 2005:

• Sexually assaulted a total of 212 victims
• Were each responsible for sexually abusing an average of 9 victims.
• Assaulted victims from age 2 to 63 with an age of 12
• Ranged in age themselves from 12 to 63 with an average age of 28
• Committed crimes from 1958 through 2004.
• Committed their crimes in 11 Washington counties, 8 other states, and several foreign countries.
• Were convicted of a total of 85 sex offenses, including 60 sexually violent offenses.

Even with these tough laws, there has been room for improvement. The expert attorneys in the AGO’s Sexually Violent Predator Unit, in their work with prosecutors across the state, have discovered some inadequacies in Washington’s sex offender laws – particularly in the area of protecting children.

The AGO, working with victim advocates, law enforcement and prosecutors, drafted a comprehensive package of bills to protect children from sex predators. All were passed by the 2006 Legislature (PDF).

Protecting children where they play

One of the new laws establishes the crime of Criminal Trespass Against a Child (PDF). It is the first law in the nation which gives employees at facilities where children congregate the authority to order out certain registered sex offenders. Offenders who refuse to obey such orders can be charged with an unranked Class C felony punishable by a maximum one year in prison.

Sex predators are called predators for a reason. They find new prey by hanging out in areas where children gather together. This unique law provides facility managers a much-needed tool to protect children from predators who intentionally target community centers, swimming pools, parks, and playgrounds in search of new victims.

Learn more about how to protect children in public places (PDF).

Other bills approved by the 2006 Legislature [in PDF format]:

• Create mandatory prison terms for crimes committed with sexual motivation, including a minimum one year sentence for class C felonies, double enhancements for second-time offenders and a clarification that enhancements can be added to misdemeanors as well.
• Make second degree assault of child with sexual motivation a “strike” under the state’s “Two Strikes, You’re Out” law for sex offenders.
• Increase the penalty for possession of child pornography from an unranked felony to a Level VI with a minimum one year of prison time.
• Strengthen the sex offender registration statute.
• Extend the statute of limitations in cases where a suspect is identified through DNA testing.
• Make permanent statewide residency restrictions approved by the Legislature in 2005, which prohibit sex offenders from living within 880 feet of a public or private school.

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