State Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s office has filed a petition in Grays Harbor Superior Court seeking to civilly commit an Aberdeen-area sex offender, preventing his release into the community.
Patrick Truxillo, 47, was convicted of first-degree rape and first-degree burglary in 2002 and sentenced to 13 years and 4 months in prison.
Truxillo was due to be released on Jan. 4, but the Attorney General’s Office petitioned to have him committed, alleging Truxillo is mentally ill and sexually dangerous. The petition will ask a judge to find probable cause that Truxillo is a sexually violent predator, a preliminary ruling allowing the state to detain Truxillo for further proceedings.
The civil commitment petition consists of allegations that have not yet been proven in a court of law. The state has the burden to prove the allegations in court.
A certificate for determination of probable cause was submitted by Assistant Attorney General Rose McGillis citing a history of sexual offenses including a guilty plea for attempted sexual assault and kidnapping in 1990, sexual assault and kidnapping in 1992 (charges dismissed), attempted sexual assault and kidnapping in 1997 (charges dismissed and Truxillo was sentenced for second-degree robbery later that day) all in Maricopa County, Ariz.
The certificate also outlines a history of substance abuse — alcohol, marijuana, cocaine and LSD — and nonsexual offenses including larceny, aggravated assault, shoplifiting, trespassing, robbery and assault.
A psychological review of Truxillo, submitted with the certificate, found a mental abnormality predisposing him to acts of sexual violence against “peer-aged females” and causing serious difficulty in controlling his behavior, “such that he is likely to engage in predatory acts of sexual violence if not confined to a secure facility.”
Passed in 1990, Washington’s Sexually Violent Predator law allows the state Attorney General’s Office to petition for the civil commitment of violent sex offenders who, because of a mental abnormality and/or personality disorder, are proven likely to engage in predatory acts of sexual violence after they have served their criminal sentences.
The Attorney General’s Office Sexually Violent Predator unit is responsible for prosecuting sex predator cases for 38 of 39 counties (King County being the exception).
As of October 2014, 294 sexually violent predators are in the state’s Special Commitment Program.
“The Attorney General’s Office works hard to prevent the release of dangerous sexually violent offenders into our communities,” Ferguson said.
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