Sex offenders required forced into compliance with DNA requirement

OLYMPIA — Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced last week that his office has completed collecting DNA samples from over 370 registered sex offenders in Washington State as part of an effort to collect DNA from every registered sex offender who is required by law give a DNA sample.

According to a press release from the attorney general’s office, the 372 new DNA profiles provide a number of new hits to cases currently in the system, allowing investigators to review three currently unsolved cases in Washington state, provide suspect information on three out-of-state cases, and confirmed the identity of the offender in two current cases.

The DNA collection from sex offenders is also part of a larger project to collect DNA from all violent offenders, the press release noted.

“Out of respect for survivors and their experience, this work must be done,” Ferguson said in the press release. “This project is bringing justice to survivors of assault, rape and other violent crimes. The more cold cases that are solved, the safer our communities will be.”

Washington state law requires anyone convicted of a felony, certain gross misdemeanors and all registered sex offenders or anyone convicted of kidnapping to provide a DNA sample, the press release said, noting that not all convicted offenders have complied.

According to Grant County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Kyle Foreman, there are 345 registered sex offenders in Grant County, and the GCSO has a deputy assigned to keep track of where each of them are living.

Residents can also visit the Offender Watch website for Grant County at bit.ly/3FyES2 to see where Level 2 and Level 3 sex offenders live. Level 2 and 3 sex offenders are categorized as having the greatest risk of reoffending, and Level 2 offenders are required to verify their addresses every six months, while Level 3 offenders are required to verify their addresses every three months.

In addition, some credit monitoring companies like Experian will also send out alerts to customers when a sex offender moves into a nearby neighborhood.

Adams County Sheriff Dale Wagner said his office also has a deputy dedicated to keeping tab on the county’s registered sex offenders, which averages around 50 at any one time.

“It’s been as high as 55,” Wagner said.

Foreman said unless a court imposes restrictions, the sheriff’s office does not have the power to tell sex offenders where they can live, though courts can limit or forbid sex offenders from being around children, or living close to a place where children congregate or impose curfews. It is also a crime to harass or threaten a sex offender, Foreman wrote in an email, and that could limit the ability of law enforcement to notify the community of an offender’s whereabouts.

“The only person who wins if community notification is halted is the registered sex offender, as sexual offenders derive their power through secrecy,” Foreman wrote.

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached at cfeatherstone@columbiabasinherald.com.