(The Center Square) – The Washington State Sentencing Guidelines Commission has voted 7–2–3 (seven in favor, two against, and three abstentions) to recommend a policy to the Legislature that would provide alternative sentencing for certain sex offenses that do not involve a real victim, such as those in sting operations.
In 2022, SOPB submitted a report to the state Legislature that argued “based on the review of research and the effectiveness of treatment alternatives for individuals who commit sexual offenses, as well as the lowered costs associated with diverting individuals from prison while still holding them accountable for their actions, we recommend that a new treatment alternative should be created to expand treatment services to low risk individuals who have committed certain sexual offenses.”
Among those offenses is internet sex sting operations and “other sex offenses with no identifiable victim.”
The SOPB voted to recommend this policy in an 8-2-2 vote before releasing the report. That same year, the board recommended treatment over jail time for those caught possessing child pornography, as well as removing public notice and public comment before siting and permitting less restrictive alternative facilities for violent sex offenders.
At the WSSGC’s Nov. 14 meeting, SOPB Chair Brad Mayhew, who said “most of those are attempted crimes or communication with a minor when in fact they’re a detective. The research in this area was a little more spotty than it is in that related to the child sexual abuse images cases. What we found is research suggests that they’re at lower risk than hands-on offenders, and there are others who take the position that are very similar to hands on offenders and that there isn’t much of a distinction between them.”
“You have a lot of people who come into this population who have very little experience with the world and you’ve been coming into the population, a small percentage of people, who are scary and exactly the kind of predator that you would want law enforcement to be trying to catch.”
Rep. Lauren Davis, D-Seattle, expressed some skepticism regarding the characteristics of the average sex offender engaging in this behavior, saying that some advocates “like to paint a picture that it’s a bunch of 20-year-olds, but that is not what the data reflects. There have been many, many people caught in these stings, of course, who hold positions of power, including positions, judges, teachers, et cetera, that have plenty of experience with the world, so to speak.”
“These are cases where a person has taken a substantial step to have sex with a child,” she added. “That is the totality of these cases.”
Mayhew, a defense attorney for individuals accused of sexual crimes, responded that while these types of sex offenders “tend not to be particularly young, the clients that I represent in this area often are on the autism spectrum They are with significant cognitive issues. What I was saying here is that the level of sophistication amongst these individuals, not based on age, but based-on-life experience and whether they even leave their home, there’s a wide range of that.”
Port Angeles Police Chief Brian Smith noted that “there’s a big difference between what we can prove versus what we know. In these cases where there was an intent to commit a crime and a substantial step was taken, but there is not an actual victim.”
The WSGC also voted to request the Legislature have SOPB come up with alternative sentencing eligibility and ineligibility criteria.
During this year’s legislative session, Sen. Lisa Wellman, D-Mercer Island, sponsored Senate Bill 5312, which would reduce the sex offender registration requirement for those convicted in net nanny operations to five years. The bill received a public hearing in the Senate Committee on Law & Justice, but did not get a vote.
