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Suspected child murderer was member of protected class of predators in Washington State |
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Tuesday, 17 July 2007 19:00 |
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Terapon Adhahn, the Thai immigrant and convicted sex offender being investigated in the abduction and murder of 12-year old Zina Linnick, "could not have been deported for [his] incest conviction because it was not an aggravated felony and it was his first offense," an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeperson has told ABC News.
Adhahn was convicted for the rape of a teenage girl in 1990, but he
benefitted from Washington State's protected "special sex offender"
status, pleading guilty to incest and avoiding both prison and
deportation.
Washington's Special Sex Offender Sentencing Alternative (SSOSA) was
created in 1984, at a time when politicians were passing "get tough"
sentencing laws, but wanted loopholes for child sexual abuse cases.
Some claimed that victims and their families would not cooperate with
prosecutors if they knew about the new sentences. Others, led by sex
offender therapists, argued that incest perpetrators (the largest group
of predators) were different and less dangerous. The SSOSA program was
crucial in erecting a deeply-entrenched Washington system that for
decades has encouraged prosecutors, judges, mental health professionals
and even "victim advocates" to treat child sexual abuse in their state
as a psychological or medical problem, not a serious crime.
Although first degree incest is a serious Class B felony in Washington, the state's sentencing guidelines manual
lists the crime under the heading, "nonviolent sex". A sentencing
worksheet, referencing SSOSA, recommends just 12-14 months for a
first-time incest offender.
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