By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office wants residents to know a level three registered sex offender has moved to north Centralia.
Garth D. Snively, 66, now resides on the 1200 block of Logan Street.
Public notification of where registered sex offenders reside is intended to enhance public safety, according to the sheriff’s office. Level three is the designation for individuals deemed most likely to reoffend.
Garth D. Snively
Snively is a clear risk to re-offend, according to the sheriff’s office.
Snively served a prison term after his 1994 convictions for two counts of first-degree child molestation and one count of indecent liberties, according to the sheriff’s office. His victim was an 11-year-old boy he met while he was a Sunday school teacher at a church in Snohomish County, according to sheriff’s detective Jamey McGinty. He is not wanted.
He is among a small portion of offenders who, following his release in 2006, was civilly committed to the Special Commitment Center at McNeil Island where authorities retain offenders in custody for treatment until they are found to be no longer dangerous.
The process comes from the Community Protection Act of 1990,
According to information provided by McGinty, Snively admitted to molesting other boys beginning when he was 12 years old, and over the course of the investigation for his case, disclosed more than 30 victims, and once estimated over 100 victims. Some were related to him.
They were all boys between the ages of 5 and 12.
Snively gained access to many of the victims through social outings including through the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, Big Brothers and his position as a Sunday School instructor, according to McGinty.
Snively is among a small number of individuals who have been granted release from McNeil Island.
McGinty said to his knowledge, it’s the first time the county has had someone move here after getting out from the Special Commitment Center.
There are currently more than 500 registered sex offenders living in Lewis County. Twenty-three of them are designated as level threes.
But unlike others, who only have to register their address, following their time with DOC, Snively has numerous strict conditions.
He was granted what’s called a less restricted alternative release, and is allowed to transition to the community, according to McGinty. He is still under the custody of the state Department of Corrections, according to McGinty.
Snively lives in a home he purchased, according to McGinty.
Among his conditions are, Snively is restricted to his property, except for appointments with DOC and his very intensive sex offender treatment.
“He must be escorted, if he gets permission to leave his house, by qualified chaperones,” McGinty stated in an email exchange today.
Further, McGinty said he has been told Snively will have GPS to monitor his his movement. And he will be closely monitored by DOC, visited frequently, according to McGinty.
Snively moved in yesterday, and registered with McGinty yesterday.
Personnel from the Special Commitment Center have been chaperoning him to his appointments, he said.
Snively is described as a white male, 5-feet 9-inches tall and weighing 290 pounds. He has gray hair but is balding and has hazel eyes.
The sheriff’s office flyer for Snively contains the same language as it does for other registered sex offenders:
The notifications are not intended to increase fear, but rather are made because of the belief an informed public is a safer public.
“Using this public information to threaten, intimidate or harass sex offenders will not be tolerated by the law enforcement agencies of Lewis County,” the flyer states. “This abuse could potentially terminate our ability to release this important information to the public.”
For further details about Snively, check the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office website. Those with questions can contact McGinty or Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Chief Bruce Kimsey at 360-748-9286.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
I checked out book from the library a few years ago I thought was fiction. I read it anyway. It was on the best sellers list because it was written by the the head of the Behavioral Science Unit for the FBI. It was pretty enlightening . According to this fella who studied and dealt with these folks for over 30 years , they are NEVER cured , that is a myth . What flips your skirt up at 12 evidently continues your whole life. What they are, is really good at manipulation. Also he said after 10,000 interviews he NEVER met a pedophile who admitted to hurting a child. They admitted to having sex with them but they really feel it is ok. If they comply it is because they want to be free to offend again. Never forget it is ALWAYS a deliberate seduction on their part , he said. You do not even want to know the shit he revealed about serial killers. Also he admitted he had no sympathy for either. So play your fucking violin elsewhere because this old lady ain’t buyin.
Vicki said:
“About your comment of sex offender rehabilitation, the research very clearly shows otherwise and is a crime with the lowest rate of recidivism. People are frequently unwilling to accept that fact however because it does not match the rhetoric thrown around.”
People are unwilling to accept that because it does not match reality. The Sex Offender Registry is filled with perverts whose case histories boil down to, “This guy raped a girl (or boy), went to prison, got out of prison, raped again, went to prison, got out of prison, and will likely rape again.” Throw in multiple instances of failing to register, just for accuracy.
If these animals weren’t likely to re-offend, this wouldn’t be an issue. If sex crimes had the lowest rate of recidivism, the Registry would hardly be needed. The subject of the above article admitted to molesting between 30 to 100 kids; that goes way beyond ‘recidivism’. That this piece of garbage should ever walk free is not just a slap in the face of Justice, it’s spitting on it.
I don’t advocate killing sex offenders, unless their crimes accelerate to murder. I advocate locking them up for life. And I seriously don’t understand people who insist on giving child molesters a second chance.
Yes XD you are correct about the “waiver”. I hope they have loosened up on those as I wrote many when the rule change happened and never had one accepted. About your comment of sex offender rehabilitation, the research very clearly shows otherwise and is a crime with the lowest rate of recidivism. People are frequently unwilling to accept that fact however because it does not match the rhetoric thrown around.
Vicki,
It is release to your county of FIRST conviction UNLESS you are granted a waiver of relocation due to numerous possible reasons.
Your Jesus rhetoric may work to other believers but that is as fake as saying a molester can be reformed.
The only way to reform a molester is to throw dirt on them.
Ridge, thank you for your logical, rational statements. I find the out pouring of threats and incitement of harm to be really concerning. It appears many are really working hard to incite someone else to do the guy in or burn down his house. Hopefully all these people will leave the guy alone and let the people assigned to handle this man do their job. I believe Jesus talked unequivocally about this exact type of situation. Check it our with your local pastor. I actually would feel quite safe around this person due to the intense security around him. It is the ones who have not been caught that should cause real concern.
Actually the designation is set prior to their release from prison by staff. The sheriffs office can make changes based on the persons circumstances upon release to their county of conviction. After being released from supervision the person has the ability to request a level change from the Sheriffs office. It is not a simple process that they make the request and it is granted. Their housing and work situation is a big determiner of their requirements from the CCO.
The Community Corrections Officer has the authority to set stipulations for the sex offender while under supervision.
Wow, I hope the community stays safe, kinda scary. nasty
Ketz said:
“It is legally complicated to hold a person against their will indefinitely when they’ve already done the time for their crime…”
Ridge said:
“…keeping people in prison past the term of their sentencing to me is Unconstitutional.”
What I’m saying is the sentencing laws need to change. We need to make sexual assault on children a Life Without Parole offense, so there is no question of “They’ve done their time”. Predators who prey on children shouldn’t be thought to have “done their time” until they’re found dead in their cell and buried in an unmarked grave in the prison cemetery.
It’s not like these people stole something, or made a mistake that led to people being hurt and/or property being damaged. They knew what they were doing. They hurt children for their own pleasure. They deserve no sympathy, and anyone stupid enough to give them a second chance is the worst kind of fool.
And I know that even if our lawmakers passed such a change in sentencing law today, those who have been sentenced previously can’t be retroactively thrown back into prison or kept there past their original sentence. The Constitution prohibits de facto laws. But if a new L-WOPP requirement was set in place, we know we’d get all of them eventually. These monsters are never going to change or “get better”. They’ve been defined as having a mental illness, which makes people think they can be fixed. They can’t. We need to stop feeling so much sympathy for the rapists, and start feeling more for the victims. Locking the attackers away forever is the only way to keep them from finding more victims, or going after their previous prey.
Ridge also says:
“Sex Offenders cannot make plea deals to lower their Designation Levels.”
They can plea down the initial charge. I personally know of at least one sex offender, currently in this area, with two convictions of molesting children, who pled down to indecent liberties in his first offense system to keep himself off the Level 3 registry. He was later charged with 1st Degree Child Molestation, and has been arrested at least three times for failing to register his sex offender status, and somehow his designation never changes. I’d name him here, but I’m unsure of the legality of such an act, even though you can find him on the Sheriff’s website. He’s listed as Level 1 Transient; the public doesn’t get to be alerted to his presence since he’s not a Level 3, but he’s out there. Two separate assaults on children, a pattern of not fulfilling his parole obligations, and he’s allowed to walk free, because “He served his time”, and because somehow sexually abusing two young girls doesn’t rate a Level 3 status. That’s how well the system works to keep us and our children safe.
You shouldn’t be scared of the one you know. It’s the that you don’t that you should be scared to death of. Because it could be anyone
Sure would be a shame if his house burned down while he was unable to escape the fire…………
J.Z. You are wrong. Sex Offenders cannot make plea deals to lower their Designation Levels. Those levels are assigned by a board consisting of a Sheriff’s representative, The DOC, and a civilian panel member. The courts do not set the designations, the county does. They go by past history, cooperation while in custody, and type of placement and location when returned to the community. This guy is the highest designation for the DOC and the Sheriff’s Office. The safest place to live is probably in the same block he lives on. There will be constant Law Enforcement presence by three agencies Centralia PD, The Sheriff’s Office and Washington State Department of Corrections. All persons living in his vicinity will have been notified of his presence as will the schools which will have his picture on their wall and have a heightened vigilance to make sure he does not come by. He will be restricted from going close to schools and as it is, he cannot leave his immediate property without a qualified person with him that has attended Sex Offender training in order to be allowed to escort him anywhere. None of us feels overly safe when a person like this is released but keeping people in prison past the term of their sentencing to me is Unconstitutional. It’s a small step to incarcerating people because they might commit a crime. If and when this guy violates a rule. You can bet he will be back in McNeil Island.
You can fkm up !! Just don’t get caught
@Katz– Maybe this article I found online about this sick motherfucker will show you different about it being illegal to hold someone against their will indefinitely
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20131028/NEWS01/710289906
J.Z.
It is legally complicated to hold a person against their will indefinitely when they’ve already done the time for their crime, regardless of whether they deserve it. You can bet the residents there are constantly filing lawsuit against the state for their release. Also sociopaths can be pretty skilled at manipulating the system. Since they are mental health patients, they have considerably more legal rights than prison inmates. Also, like many state institutions, the Special Commitment Center is most likely overcrowded, understaffed, and underfunded. It’s easy for some of these guys to slip through the administrative and clinical cracks. I imagine it would be hard to evaluate their risk, since they’re all locked up on an island miles away from the opportunity to reoffend. I bet a guy like Snively is a small fry compared to some of monsters that go there.
Good news!
How utterly nauseating!
Citizens that are concerned about the safety of others cannot “threaten, harass or intimidate sex offenders” is tolerated? Surely you jest! I sure as heck wouldn’t want one in my neighborhood. Any chance of killing that order? I’d probably get arrested for putting a sign in my yard listing his address and/or name stating the reason why he is on the child abuse alert system! It’s just not right…..
Well, it shouldn’t be hard for a family member of one of his victims to find him and eliminate any future chance of re-offense.
“Snively is a clear risk to re-offend, according to the sheriff’s office.”
“He is among a small portion of offenders who, following his release in 2006, was civilly committed to the Special Commitment Center at McNeil Island where authorities retain offenders in custody for treatment until they are found to be no longer dangerous.”
Anyone else seeing a contradiction here? If he was released, he’s thought to no longer be a danger, but he’s considered a clear risk to re-offend.
What needs to change is sentencing laws for sex offenders, especially when the victims are children. Child molestation should be a one-and-out offense, L-WOPP.
“There are currently more than 500 registered sex offenders living in Lewis County. Twenty-three of them are designated as level threes.”
What isn’t stated there is that a lot of those offenders who aren’t Level 3 should be, but they made plea deals that lowered their designation.
“Using this public information to threaten, intimidate or harass sex offenders will not be tolerated by the law enforcement agencies of Lewis County.”
How nice of local law enforcement to make sure all the little pedos and rapists are safe and secure whilst they hunt for new victims. Our society really has lost its collective mind.