Sex offender to be released from McNeil Island

WALLA WALLA — A man who was convicted of molesting a child in Walla Walla County in 1995 and who has been held nearly two years at the Special Commitment Center on McNeil Island will be released Friday.

After a new expert reviewed the file for Ronald Valentine, 63, the State Attorney General’s Office said it couldn’t prove he was likely to reoffend.

The Union-Bulletin reports he finished a 15-year sentence in 2010 and the state sought to commit him indefinitely as a sex predator. A civil commitment trial was scheduled this month until the new expert’s opinion resulted in the dismissal.

Valentine will be supervised for two years with conditions to avoid children and participate in treatment. He reportedly intends to live in the Tacoma area.

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