Sex offender’s release to be decided

Published 10:00 pm Thursday, July 26, 2007

A judge will decide next month whether a man who has been incarcerated more than half his life is a sexually violent predator and likely to commit more offenses if released.

Deputy prosecutor Paul Stern argued that that John J. Callahan, now 35, should be committed for treatment in a secure facility.

Everett attorney GussMarkwell argued that Callahan is not a predator and is not likely to reoffend.

Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Anita Farris presided over Callahan’s four-day trial this week.

Callahan was just 17 in 1988 when he raped or molested at least a half-dozen children in Mountlake Terrace. He was convicted in adult court of eight counts and sentenced to prison.

When Callahan’s prison term ended, he was sent to the state’s Special Commitment Center for violent predators.

Stern wants him committed to that facility on McNeil Island to be treated for an indefinite period. He brought in an expert who diagnosed Callahan as a pedophile that is likely to commit more crimes. Markwell’s expert testified that Callahan is no longer a danger to the public.

Markwell will submit more information to Farris before her scheduled decision on Aug. 10.