Hundreds protest Washington Democrats plan to release 'worst of the worst' from sex offender prison island, house them in residential neighborhoods

Hundreds of people, including several state lawmakers, crammed into Wabash Church in Enumclaw, Washington, Thursday night, to demand answers from state and county officials about a high-level sex offender who has moved into the community without notice after being released from McNeil Island.

Last month it was revealed that Washington state Democrats are releasing Level-3 sex offenders from McNeil Island, called "the worst of the worst" by the federal government. This group of offenders includes convicted pedophiles that are likely to re-offend.



The offenders are being resettled into rural and residential neighborhoods around the state in halfway homes operated by private companies.

According to Northwest News Radio, officials from the Department of Social and Health Services, the Department of Corrections, and the King County Sheriff’s department began with a power-point presentation discussing how sex offenders are released and monitored from McNeil Island.

The outlet reported that the crowd of approximately a thousand people didn’t want a power-point, they wanted their questions answered about the offender, 62-year-old Steven Knapp, and a potential conflict of interest with the owner of the home for the offender who is also a polygraph examiner at McNeil Island.

The Enumclaw facility called "Garden House" is owned and operated by Jill Rockwell who is married to Rick Minnich. Former state Rep. Cathy Dahlquist told the outlet, "Rick Minnich has a contract with Department of Corrections… to do polygraphs for the convicted, sexually violent predators when they come off McNeil."

Dahlquist has also revealed that in 2014 Minnich's son, Nathaniel Rick Minnich, was charged with rape, strangulation, and two counts of domestic violence. She also said that Nate pled guilty to a lesser charge and the full court documents were sealed.

Keith DeVoss with DSHS conceded at the meeting that they were aware of the conflict and that they did seek guidance from the attorney general regarding the conflict. Chris Wright with the Department of Corrections told the outlet that they have been transitioning sex offenders into Washington communities for years.

A representative from the King County Sexual Assault Resource Center drew swift backlash from the crowd in Enumclaw when she told them that "…the onus of keeping your kids safe is on you."

Minnich has contracted with the state Department of Social and Health Services to house up to six offenders and will receive $38,000 a month per sex offender.

The sex offender already placed at Garden house is Stevan James Knapp, AKA Charles Knapp, who was convicted of child molestation in the first degree and attempted rape of a child. He will be wearing an ankle bracelet as his "supervision."

Knapp was originally paroled in 1989 but had it revoked after he committed another violent sexual offense, and was resentenced in 1990.

In 2021, Washington Democrats passed legislation that amended state law to make it easier to equally distribute conditionally released sexually violent predators which they refer to as "residents" in counties across the state.

Republican state lawmakers are supporting bills to address the concerns, but are not optimistic about getting the proposals passed in the Democratic-controlled legislature.