Steven James Serr was only 17 in 1994 when he became upset that a staff member at a group home in Everett disciplined him for misbehavior.
He threw a picnic bench through the group home’s kitchen window, smashed other windows and ran away.
Two staff members pursued him and later found him on top of an 11-year-old girl, raping her. He was convicted of first-degree child rape in 1994 and sentenced to prison, but his term is now up.
He won’t be set free, however, because a Snohomish County Superior Court jury Friday ruled that Serr is a violent sexual predator.
The ruling came after a weeklong trial in which assistant state attorney general Jennifer Treadwell Karol argued that Serr, now 27, suffers from a mental problem that makes it difficult for him to control his sexually violent behavior.
She also argued that his personality disorder makes him likely to engage in predatory sexual violence in the future.
The jury agreed. Although it was a civil proceeding, it had all the trappings of a criminal trial. The jury had to find unanimously that it was more likely than not that Serr would offend again.
Serr, who was convicted of second-degree rape as a juvenile, will be sent to the Special Commitment Center at McNeil Island in Pierce County. There, he will be treated for an indefinite period – until experts agree that it’s safe for him to be free.
Serr will join about 210 people being treated there.
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