Before he was convicted of sexually molesting one 11-year-old girl and assaulting with sexual motivation another in 2006, Edmonds resident Don Anderson was a successful businessman, a father of three kids, and a husband with a stable, 33-year-long marriage.
Now, Anderson, 54, is divorced, in prison and his lawyer is attempting to overturn an unusual February, 2007 ruling that could keep him behind for four and a half more years.
In the process, a history of sexual molestation stretching back to the 1960s was uncovered, according to his own admission in court doccuments. When Anderson was a young teenager, he molested his pre-teen sister. In the late 1980s, he molested his pre-teen niece.
“It has totally torn our family apart,” said Leslie Hamilton, the mother of Anderson’s niece, and the now-estranged sister of Anderson’s former wife. During the three year period when her daughter was abused by Anderson, Hamilton lived next door in an Edmonds cul-de-sac. “We thought he was a good uncle, but it was all a lie.
“All these years, it was a lie. It is devastating,” Hamilton said.
Although Anderson has admitted to his crimes – in court he described his behavior as “deviant” – he had never been convicted of a sexual offense until 2006. Nor, as his attorney points out, had he ever received treatment for sexual offenders.
In fact, Anderson would be amenable to treatment, experts have concluded.
That conflict – between Anderson’s history and the lack of what would seem to be effective treatment – will be considered again in a Chelan County courtroom as soon as this month.
A re-sentencing hearing expected to take place this month could see Anderson released from prison to serve in a community treatment program called the Special Sex Offender Sentencing Alternative (SSOSA) that both Anderson and prosecutors in Chelan County originally recommended.
SSOSA is like a very strict sort of probation, restricting activities and includes oversight, but allows offenders to live at home.
Chelan County Judge John Bridges’ denial of the recommendation of the prosecutor, defense, state Department of Corrections and a treatment provider was the first time in that county’s history, Chelan County deputy prosecuting attorney Roy Fore told The Enterprise. Fore has called Anderson one of the strongest candidates for SSOSA he has ever seen.
The court proceedings are in Chelan County, because that’s where the 2006 crimes occurred, on the deck of Anderson’s cabin in the small town of Pride. One of the victims is from Lynnwood. The other is from Spanaway.
Minutes after the Lynnwood girl’s parents went to bed one evening in July, 2006, Anderson, drunkenly molested her, according to court documents. She screamed, and her parents came running. In the moment, Anderson did not dispute the girl’s account, but said he did not remember all that occurred. His alcohol use was blamed in the event, but he hasn’t had a drink since then, his attorney said.
At the sentencing, the families of Anderson’s victims hailed Judge Bridges’ decision. They worked hard to bring it about, they said, and hope to block itagain.
“We hope the judge will understand that this isn’t something that happened years ago and again in 2006,” said the mother of one of the 2006 victims. “There is history here.”
Anderson’s molestation of his niece actually came to light in 2003. Because the statute of limitations for the crime had passed, and because Anderson said he hadn’t reoffended since, no professional recommended he get treatment.
That is shocking, parents of both 2006 victims said.
Together, the victim’s families believe Anderson might have committed more crimes than he has admitted. They have continued to pursue that possibility, going so far last year to solicit other victims via posters distributed in Edmonds. Police blocked that effort.
They continue to search for other victims. They’ve hinted in court that they have found at least one.
“I want the girls to have some type of closure for this. I don’t want anybody to have to hide it like (Anderson’s relatives) did,” the Lynnwood mother said. “I don’t want them to think ‘It was just me’ he zoomed in on, because that is not true.”
It is an account, Anderson disputes.
“Like all the professionals, apparently, I did not in 2003 consider myself still a danger to children,” he wrote in a letter to the court. “I had been around many children over the years since I molested (my niece) without molesting any. From that I thought my deviant behavior was behind me – a tragic mistake in my thinking.”
SSOSA would help Anderson put this behind him and help the community, Anderson’s lawyer said. Recidivism rates for sex offenders granted SSOSA are much lower than those offenders put in prison, his attorney, David Marshall. wrote in a statement to The Enterprise.
A SSOSA sentence “would recognize that the court’s best assurance that he will persist to successful completion of treatment is to hold a long prison term over his head throughout treatment,” Marshall wrote.
Reporter Chris Fyall: 425-673-6525 or cfyall@heraldnet.com
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
