Questions about rapist’s return

Published 9:00 pm Sunday, March 5, 2006

LAKE STEVENS – Jeffrey D. Henderson has moved back to Lake Stevens, and some here are asking why the convicted rapist is allowed to live in the community where he left behind so much pain.

Police here consider Henderson, 44, a dangerous offender. They also acknowledge he has a right to live where he wants – freedom he enjoys because his crimes occurred long before lawmakers began getting tough on sex offenders.

“The best we can do is make the community aware of these type of offenders,” Snohomish County sheriff’s detective Dave Coleman said.

Police are encouraging neighbors to take the time to educate themselves and their children about personal safety.

“We don’t want people to be paranoid. We want people to be aware. In the world we live in today, we have to be aware of our surroundings and who lives in our neighborhoods,” Coleman said.

Henderson, 44, was sentenced to more than 28 years in prison following a series of sexual assaults in Snohomish County in 1984 and 1985. The victims, between the ages of 12 and 22, were ambushed while they were walking or jogging alone, bound, threatened with a weapon and raped, according to court documents.

Henderson served 19 years in prison, the punishment then mandated under sentencing laws. He refused treatment designed to help lower his chances of offending again, and was released from prison in June 2004. Two months later, he was arrested and charged with attempting to kidnap an 11-year-old Tacoma girl. The case ended in a mistrial. Charges were dropped last week after Henderson’s defense attorney raised the specter of another suspect, said Krista Bush, an assistant state attorney general.

Bush had filed a petition in Snohomish County Superior Court, seeking to have Henderson locked up indefinitely receiving treatment under a state law that allows civil commitment for sexually violent predators. State attorneys general abandoned their petition after the Pierce County kidnapping charge was filed.

Because the kidnapping charge was later dismissed, the state’s lawyers no longer believe they have evidence to support the sex predator petition, Bush said. There are no plans to refile the petition.

Part of the problem is that when Henderson was released from prison in 2004, a psychologist determined the Lake Stevens man didn’t pose enough risk to be covered under the sex predator law.

Convicted sex offenders must meet three criteria to be considered for civil confinement at a secure treatment center after they’ve completed their prison sentences.

First, the person must have been convicted of a sexually violent offense. Second, he or she must have been diagnosed with a personality disorder or mental abnormality. Third, as a result of the diagnosis, experts must determine that the offender is more likely to commit a future violent sexual offense.

“Not being civilly committed doesn’t mean he’s not dangerous. We want people to be aware of who he is,” Coleman said. “Our message is no different than for any other level three (sex offender) living in Snohomish County.”

There are a total of 1,463 sex offenders registered in the county. Ninety-six are level three sex offenders. They are the people police and others believe are the most likely to reoffend.

Coleman said he understands why Henderson’s neighbors wonder why he is not under close supervision.

“If he committed the same set of crimes now, in all likelihood he would have received a life sentence,” Coleman said.

Henderson, however, was convicted before more stringent sentences for sex offenders were adopted, said Jeri Costa, chairwoman of the state’s Indeterminate Sentence Review Board.

The law now includes community supervision after sex offenders are released from prison, said Costa, a former state lawmaker.

Costa now serves on a board that reviews the release of sex offenders. If the sentence and facts allow, the board has authority to extend prison stays and to keep certain offenders behind bars for life, she said.

“Over the years we’ve changed sentencing laws to address some of those big holes,” Costa said. “Those same laws don’t apply to offenders” who committed their crimes decades ago.

Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com.