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The typical child sex offender molests an average of 117 children. The re-arrest rate for convicted child molesters is 52%. There are approximately 600,000 registered sex offenders in the US alone. The chance that your child will become a victim of a sex offender is 1 in 3 for girls & 1 in 6 for boys. Every 2 1/2 minutes, somewhere in America, someone is sexually assaulted.
Seattle Times Articles ...
The DOC said other Level III sex offenders were also among those released, but a spokesman said he didn't have further details... Eighty-three convicted criminals — including high-risk sex offenders and violent felons — have been released from two King County jails because they exceeded the total that the state Department of Corrections was allowed to place there... Last year, the agency ordered 3,144 conditional releases. None of the offenders was released because of jail overcrowding, DOC spokesman Jeff Weathersby said...
The Seattle Times Articles Editorials & Opinion: Thursday, January 26, 2006
The stricken record Two Seattle-area teachers were recently sentenced to a total of 10 ½ years in prison in plea bargains that involved the rape and molestation of at least 15 young public schoolchildren. That's fewer than nine months in prison for each child, whose innocence is forever destroyed. A former bus driver was just sentenced to 40 months for sexually abusing a rider with Down Syndrome. A former counselor at the Children's Home Society in North Seattle was sentenced to six months in county jail for admittedly raping two vulnerable boys in his care. A Bethel Junior High teacher was just sentenced to — get this — three months in county jail for raping one of his 14-year-old students. SSOSA (Special Sex Offender Sentencing Alternative), and its "effective flexibility," has outlived what little usefulness it once offered. While other states have rid themselves of this nightmare, Washington clings to its use, even in cases involving non-family members. Our two-strikes law and determinate-sentencing-plus affect less than 2 percent of the current 18,000 registered sex offenders in this state. The application of our current laws has led to consistently lenient sentences and the wholesale recirculation of dangerous predators in our communities. Mandatory sentencing makes perfect sense to citizens who are fed up with the way the "system" responds to the worst crimes in our society. SSOSA must be eliminated, except in family cases where no other means to a conviction are available. Persons in positions of trust, such as teachers, coaches, counselors, neighbors and clergy, who rape and molest young children, deserve every bit of a 25-year mandatory prison sentence. — Jim Hines, Preserve Childhood Innocence, Gig Harbor
Local News: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 83 felons freed as state uses too much jail space By Jennifer Sullivan Seattle Times staff reporter
Eighty-three convicted criminals — including high-risk sex offenders and violent felons — have been released from two King County jails because they exceeded the total that the state Department of Corrections was allowed to place there. The felons had all been placed in the jails, in Seattle and Kent, because they were accused of violating the terms of their release from prison. A significant number of the offenders had been arrested because they had missed mandatory appointments with community corrections officers, said a spokeswoman for the union that represents the officers… Among those released were Kingbird, 34, a Level III sex offender whose criminal history includes rape, drug possession, theft and four counts of failing to register as a sex offender. Level III sex offenders are those considered to be a potential high risk to the community and a threat to re-offend if provided the opportunity. The DOC said other Level III sex offenders were also among those released, but a spokesman said he didn't have further details...
Local News: Wednesday, March 14, 2007
State DOC resumes early felon releases By Jennifer Sullivan and David Postman Seattle Times staff reporters Less than two weeks after Gov. Christine Gregoire ordered the state Department of Corrections to stop the early release of felons who had violated the state's version of probation, the DOC has reinstated the practice. In an internal memo e-mailed agencywide Friday, DOC Deputy Secretary Mary Leftridge Byrd said conditional releases are acceptable as long as they're not being done to avoid jail overcrowding. Gregoire said Tuesday she agrees with the policy... The conditional-release policy was criticized by Gregoire and Republican lawmakers after the DOC, citing overcrowding, signed off on the release of 82 offenders from two King County jails on Feb. 23 without the knowledge of community-corrections officers. The felons released included at least 21 with convictions for assault, 15 for drug crimes, nine for burglary, three for rape and one for kidnapping… Last year, the agency ordered 3,144 conditional releases. None of the offenders was released because of jail overcrowding, DOC spokesman Jeff Weathersby said... |
