Other LanguagesOLYMPIA - Malcolm Ross, Assistant Attorney General with the AG’s Sexually Violent Predator Unit, won his fourth civil commitment case this year, preventing a multi-victim sex predator from returning to society.
Late Monday, July 17, after a little more than an hour of deliberation, a Snohomish County jury ordered the civil commitment of Garth Snively. Snively, 57, was convicted of three sexually violent offenses against children and, prior to treatment, confessed in an interview that he had as many as 100 victims
Snively will be held indefinitely in total confinement at the state’s Special Commitment Center on McNeil Island. He may not be released either until his condition has so changed that he no longer meets the definition of a sexually violent predator, or until the court orders his conditional release to a less restrictive alternative placement.
“Garth Snively is one of the worst kinds of offender, one who befriends his victims, grooms them then betrays their trust,” said Attorney General Rob McKenna. “It’s because of people like Snively that I worked with our sexually violent predator unit to pass tougher laws against sex predators who harm children. These new laws, coupled with the hard work of assistant attorneys general like Malcolm help make Washington a safer place for our children.”
The Attorney General’s Sexually Violent Predator Unit petitioned to have 24 offenders civilly committed in 2005, 25 percent more than in 2004. Of those 24 offenders, the Attorney General’s Office sought to civilly commit in 2005 sexually assaulted a total of 212 victims with an average age of 12.
The offenders were convicted of a total of 85 sex offenses, including 60 "sexually violent" or serious hands-on offenses. Offenders ranged in age from 12 to 63 years old and they came from 11 Washington counties, eight other states and several foreign countries.
In addition, in 2005, the AGO succeeded in civilly committing 19 offenders as sexually violent predators. This is the highest number of offenders the AGO has ever committed in one calendar year.
Based on the unit’s recommendations, McKenna requested and passed a package of sex offender legislation to further protect children and others against sex predators.
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Contact: Janelle Guthrie, AG Media Relations Director, (360) 586-0725