Thank you to Scott North for the wonderful July 3 article on retiring Snohomish County Deputy Prosecutor Paul Stern.
In 1979, the day before Thanksgiving, my 29-year-old daughter was putting away a lawn mower in her garage in north Everett. She was jumped by a rapist who was armed with a pistol and a hunting knife. He beat her, pistol whipped her and cut her. She fought back and was able to escape, partly because of her background in law enforcement. The rapist was sentenced to five years probation and work release.
In August of 1984, while still on probation, the rapist broke into a house in south Everett where he raped and sodomized two sisters while their mother slept in the basement. They were only 14 and 16 years old. He tried to kill one of the girls by strangling her with a lamp cord. He was sentenced to prison with a release date of 1994.
As his release date neared I was very afraid that the rapist would go back to my daughter’s house and retaliate for his original arrest. I didn’t want him to be released. I didn’t know where to turn for help so I called the Snohomish County Prosecutor’s office. They connected me with Paul Stern. Through my tears I told him about my fears. Paul was so kind and patient with me. He listened to me and promised me that he would do his best to see that the rapist would not be released from prison.
Because of his dedication and tireless work effort, Paul Stern was able to keep the rapist in prison under the Sexually Violent Predator law for an additional 12 years. Each time he came up for parole Paul successfully fought to keep him incarcerated. Finally, in 2006 the rapist was released to a less restrictive setting.
I will always be grateful to Paul Stern for keeping my daughter and other Snohomish County citizens safe. We were lucky to have him work for us.
Mary Lou Dearmin
Marysville
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