Other LanguagesPORT ANGELES — A Clallam County jury has decided that repeat sex offender Brian Taylor-Rose is a dangerous predator and must be confined in the state’s Special Commitment Center on McNeil Island.
In the interest of public safety, prosecutors from Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s Sexually Violent Predator Unit have been fighting since December 2012 to prevent Taylor-Rose’s release into the community.
Taylor-Rose, 37, was convicted of first-degree child molestation in 1998 and third-degree child molestation in 2009. After this last offense Taylor-Rose was scheduled for community release in 2012, but the Attorney General’s Office filed for his civil commitment. Since then, he has been detained at the Special Commitment Center awaiting trial.
The trial began on July 13 and ended today with the jury’s decision that Taylor-Rose is a Sexually Violent Predator. Assistant Attorneys General Farshad Talebi and Mary Robnett prosecuted the case for the state.
“The Attorney General’s Office works hard to protect our communities from sexually violent predators,” said Attorney General Bob Ferguson. “When the evidence suggests an offender remains dangerous, we’ll fight to keep them confined and receiving the treatment they need.”
Under Washington’s civil commitment law, prosecutors had to demonstrate Taylor-Rose suffers from specific mental abnormalities and/or personality disorders that cause him to have serious difficulty in controlling his dangerous behavior and make him likely to engage in predatory acts of sexual violence unless confined to a secure facility.
In 1990, Washington became the first state in the nation to pass a law permitting the involuntary civil commitment of sex offenders after they have served their criminal sentence. The Attorney General’s SVP Unit was established shortly thereafter.
The AGO SVP unit is responsible for prosecuting sex predator cases for 38 of Washington’s 39 counties (King County being the exception). In Fiscal Year 2015, the unit tried 15 cases and won 10 civil commitments. Two trials ended in a hung jury and three offenders were found by juries not to meet criteria to be committed as a sexually violent predator.
As of June 2015, 293 sexually violent predators are in the state’s Special Commitment Program due to the efforts of the Attorney General’s Office and the King County Prosecutor’s Office.
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The Office of the Attorney General is the chief legal office for the state of Washington with attorneys and staff in 27 divisions across the state providing legal services to roughly 200 state agencies, boards and commissions. Attorney General Bob Ferguson is working hard to protect consumers and seniors against fraud, keep our communities safe, protect our environment and stand up for our veterans. Visit www.atg.wa.gov to learn more.
Contact:
Peter Lavallee, Communications Director, (360) 586-0725; PeterL@atg.wa.gov