Associated Press
TACOMA — In the past three weeks, David Wrathall has visited his therapist, opened a checking account and made a shopping trip.
Those all would be unremarkable accomplishments, except that Wrathall is the first convicted sex offender housed at the Special Commitment Center halfway house on McNeil Island, and the first making escorted trips to the mainland.
"This is new ground for everyone," said Pierce County sheriff’s detective Sgt. Keith Barnes. "The public has been against allowing these people off the island in the first place."
Wrathall, 35, was convicted in 1995 of second-degree kidnapping in an incident involving a Snohomish County boy, and of indecent liberties in 1985 for assaulting two boys in Seattle. He is registered as a Level 3 sex offender, marking him as potentially violent and likely to reoffend.
Since being placed at the facility in early December, Wrathall has made trips into the cities of Steilacoom, Lakewood and Tacoma. No incidents have been reported.
The halfway house, officially called the Secure Community Transition Facility, eventually will house 19 convicted sex offenders. The facility is operated by the state Department of Social and Health Services.
The halfway house is a compromise that springs from a long-running conflict over what to do with sex predators who have served their criminal sentences but are deemed likely to reoffend.
A federal judge has ruled the state cannot simply warehouse such offenders in the civil commitment center but must provide a less restrictive alternative for those who make progress in treatment.
The state tried to site smaller halfway houses around Washington, but strong opposition from locals prompted Gov. Gary Locke and the Legislature to opt for a single center on McNeil Island, which already holds a state prison and the special commitment center.
DSHS and area law enforcement officials have developed a plan for off-island offender trips aimed at ensuring public safety and minimizing public worries.
"I feel fairly comfortable that we are on the same sheet of music," Mark Davis, facility director for the halfway house, told The News-Tribune of Tacoma.
Under the visiting guidelines:
"We have to know exactly where they’re going and how they’re going to get there," said Lakewood assistant chief Rick Adamson.
Besides being escorted, halfway house travelers will be electronically monitored. Barnes said a global positioning system is in the works to help track movements.
"There are always going to be safety concerns for us," he said. "The true test will come when we have more residents."
Davis was optimistic that the strict monitoring guidelines would prevent any problems.
"My hope is that in a year or so, people will have forgotten us," he said.
Copyright ©2002 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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