Herald Staff
OAK HARBOR — About 75 people turned out to question Island County Sheriff Mike Hawley and state Department of Social and Health Services officials Monday about a 13-year-old sexual predator.
Citizens asked questions such as whether he will be placed in a public school, what if he slipped away from his round-the-clock supervisor and why he hasn’t been placed in an appropriate facility. Concern was expressed over public safety, including families of Navy men on deployment.
"It was a polite audience," said Jan Smith, Hawley’s administrative assistant. "There was genuine concern on the part of a lot of parents."
Nicholas Stroeder was convicted of indecent liberties with forcible compulsion and served a sentence in juvenile detention. He remains on parole for three years. Stroeder also is a ward of the state. He is considered so dangerous that he has a male social worker with him at all times, even when he’s asleep.
DSHS officials said they’re trying hard to find a place that will accept him. At the age of 10, he set a fire that destroyed his grandparents’ home, and Stroeder is prohibited from possessing matches or lighters. That makes him harder to place, authorities said.
Since his release from a juvenile facility on New Year’s Eve, Stroeder has been docile and not aggressive, said Steve Williams, DSHS spokesman. He could not say why the boy has been moved around so much, seldom spending more than one consecutive night in the same place. His days have largely been spent in a DSHS Children’s Administration office in Oak Harbor.
"They don’t want him with women. I think it speaks volumes to hear that we are in fact having all men as escorts," Williams said.
On Sunday, Stroeder stayed at a facility in Birch Bay, accompanied by a deputy. Monday night he was to stay in a foster home in Snohomish County. For the next two days and nights, he will be in an Island County foster home that takes in children with mental problems, Smith said.
Off-duty sheriff’s deputies no longer will be paid to supervise him after hours, Williams said.
"I think the citizens left the meeting with assurances," Smith said.
Stroeder was the subject of a dependency hearing Monday in Island County Juvenile Court. He is to undergo a mental evaluation by DSHS officials. Once he goes to a permanent home, he will be enrolled in school and also receive sex offender treatment, Williams said.
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