Attorney general seeks to indefinitely commit Whatcom County man to island for sex offenders
BELLINGHAM – The Washington State Attorney General’s Office has filed a petition seeking to civilly commit a Whatcom County man, who was set to be released from prison Thursday, indefinitely to an island for sex offenders.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a petition Tuesday in Whatcom County Superior Court requesting a Whatcom County judge detain 38-year-old Jake J. Unick at McNeil Island until a jury trial can be held to determine whether Unick meets the criteria to be designated a “sexually violent predator,” according to court records and a Tuesday press release from the attorney general’s office.
A warrant was issued for Unick’s arrest the same day. He was transported from the Monroe Correctional Complex in Snohomish County to the Whatcom County Jail, where he is being held without bail, until a probable cause hearing can be held, according to court records.
Unick’s probable cause hearing is scheduled for Tuesday morning.
Previous convictions
Over a 10-day period from late February to early March 2013, Unick attempted to kidnap two girls and one woman off the street before he briefly took a 2-year-old girl from the Fred Meyer grocery store on West Bakerview Road.
The first kidnapping attempt occurred Feb. 22, 2013, in Ferndale, Washington, when a 16-year-old girl reported that a man, later identified as Unick, grabbed her arm, shoved something sharp into her side and told her to keep moving. Unick threatened to kill the girl multiple times and threatened to spray her with pepper spray. The girl was able to get away and police were called, according to previous reporting in The Bellingham Herald.
One week later, In the morning on March 1, Unick grabbed a 13-year-old girl while she was walking to her school bus stop on West Bakerview Road and told her to do what he said. When the girl screamed “no,” Unick punched her in the face and sprayed her with pepper spray. The girl ran away and ultimately got away from Unick.
Less than 12 hours later, a 24-year-old woman reported she was attacked in a similar manner in the same area. Unick also sprayed her with pepper spray and told the woman to do what he said. The woman was able to run to her apartment on West Bakerview Road, where she got help from a neighbor who called 911, The Herald previously reported.
Roughly three days later, on March 4, a 2-year-old girl was reported missing from the Fred Meyer on West Bakerview. An alert went out and Unick brought the girl back inside the store, where he worked part time. He told the manager he found the girl outside, but security footage revealed Unick took the girl by the hand from where she had been with her parents in the middle of the store and took her outside. Unick was outside with the toddler for approximately 10 minutes before he brought her back inside the store. A medical exam revealed no injury to the girl, according to prior reporting in The Herald.
Unick was convicted May 8, 2014, in Whatcom County Superior Court of one count of first-degree kidnapping, two counts of second-degree kidnapping with sexual motivation and one count of harassment (making threats to kill).
He was sentenced Aug. 5, 2014, to 10 years in prison, with three years probation.
Special Commitment Center
McNeil Island, a roughly 7-square-mile island in the south Puget Sound, is home to the Special Commitment Center, which is run by the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services. The Special Commitment Center houses people who have been civilly, or involuntarily, committed under Washington state law as “sexually violent predators.” The people, who are referred to as residents, have completed their prison sentences, mainly for sexually violent offenses, and have been determined they are more likely than not to reoffend if not securely detained.
The law that allows the process, known as the Community Protection Act of 1990, was the first of its kind in the nation to allow a state to detain people after their prison sentences based on their potential risk to commit another sexually violent offense. Following Washington’s lead, 19 states, the federal government and Washington, D.C., now have similar laws allowing people to be indefinitely detained for sexual violence, according to the Seattle Times.
To start the process of committing someone to McNeil Island, a person will be evaluated once they are near the end of their criminal sentence to determine if they meet the criteria to be designated a “sexually violent predator.” Washington state law defines a “sexually violent predator” as someone who “has been convicted of or charged with a crime of sexual violence and who suffers from a mental abnormality or personality disorder which makes the person likely to engage in predatory acts of sexual violence if not confined in a secure facility,” according to Brionna Aho, a spokesperson for the state attorney general’s office.
If the evaluator determines the person meets that criteria, the state attorney general’s office will first file a petition seeking to commit a person under the Community Protection Act. The petition will be filed shortly before a person’s release from prison, or if they are accused of committing an act that is predatory and similar to past behavior.
An adversarial probable cause hearing will then be held to determine if the person allegedly meets that criteria.
If a judge finds probable cause that a person allegedly meets that criteria, the person will be arrested and admitted to the Special Commitment Center, until a civil commitment trial can be held. State law says a trial should be held within 45 days following the probable cause hearing, but that timeline is often extended in order to prepare time for the state and defense attorneys to prepare for trial, Aho said.
It is the state’s burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the person meets the criteria to be designated a “sexually violent predator.”
Following the trial, a jury or judge will decide whether that person is more likely than not to reoffend and should be considered a “sexually violent predator.”
If a judge or jury rules the person does not meet the criteria to be designated a “sexually violent predator,” they will be released from the island, the Seattle Times reported.
If a judge or jury determines the person does meet the criteria, they will be involuntarily committed to the Special Commitment Center indefinitely. Once on the island, people are expected to receive treatment and services, provided by the state department of social and health services. An August Seattle Times investigation found that one in four people the state has committed and released from the rehabilitation program have been arrested for new crimes, and one in seven have reoffended in a serious manner.
The Times’ investigation also revealed that DSHS does not track the people it releases or whether they commit new crimes and does not track whether its treatment program improves public safety.
There are also no regular independent audits or enforceable state or federal standards for the quality or efficacy of care, the Times found.
State law requires that people held at the Special Commitment Center be reviewed annually by a DSHS mental health professional to determine whether they continue to meet the criteria to be designated a “sexually violent predator.”
If the DSHS expert finds that a person no longer meets the criteria, the state attorney general’s office will retain a second expert to conduct an additional evaluation, per protocol put into place by Ferguson, the state attorney general.
If either one of the experts determines the person still meets the criteria to be designated a “sexually violent predator”, the state attorney general’s office will contest that person’s release every time, Aho said.
As of Aug. 2, there are 183 people in the state’s Special Commitment Program, according to the attorney general office press release.
• Unick was accused of molesting two young girls known to him, beginning when he was around 13 or 14 years old. The girls were between 5 and 8 years old at the time. The Ferndale Police Department investigated the allegations, but no charges were filed, after one of the girl’s mother’s instructed her not to cooperate.
• In 2007, Unick attended a single semester of Community Bible College in British Columbia, Canada. While there, Unick was referred to a sex offender treatment provider after he sent an email to a classmate “describing an elaborate rape fantasy” where he would break into a house with a gun while wearing a ski mask, and kidnap and rape two girls he knew, before leaving them in a forest. Unick had allegedly previously been seen looking through blackberry bushes at the home of one the girls in his fantasy. The classmate turned the email over to school administration, and Unick was referred to the sex offender treatment provider. He attended sexual deviancy treatment for two months before he quit attending, around the same time he was being investigated by Ferndale police for allegedly molesting two young girls known to him.
• In 2015, while Unick was incarcerated in a Washington state prison, he was found to have sexually explicit photos in his possession. He received an infraction and was given a verbal reprimand.
• In 2017, Unick wrote a letter to a woman in North Carolina requesting that she send him sexually explicit photos of women between the ages of 18 and 24. The letter was provided as part of a request that money be sent to the woman in exchange for the photographs.
• In 2020, a search of Unick’s property revealed he had 12 sexually explicit photographs of underage girls.
Resources
– NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Whatcom: https://www.namiwhatcom.org/crisis-resources.html
– Washington State Crisis Line/National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: Call or text 988 or text HOME to 741741 for a crisis counselor.
If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline is available by calling or texting 988. An online chat is also available at 988lifeline.org
– Whatcom County Triage Center Crisis Line: 800-584-3578
– Brigid Collins Family Support Center: 360-734-4616, brigidcollins.org
Brigid Collins Family Support Center professionals are on-call between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., Monday through Friday, to answer questions about children, families, abuse prevention or treatment at (360) 734-4616.
– Child Protective Services: Washington state hotline for reporting child abuse and neglect, 866-829-2153.
– Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Services: 24-hour Help Line: 360-715-1563, Email: info@dvsas.org.
– Lummi Victims of Crime: 360-312-2015.
– Tl’ils Ta’á’altha Victims of Crime: 360-325-3310 or nooksacktribe.org/departments/youth-family-services/tlils-taaaltha-victims-of-crime-program/
– Bellingham Police: You can call anonymously at 360-778-8611, or go online at cob.org/tips.
– WWU Consultation and Sexual Assault Support Survivor Advocacy Services: 360-650-3700 or wp.wwu.edu/sexualviolence/.
If you or a child is in immediate danger, call 911 and make a report to law enforcement.
To report child abuse or neglect call 1-866-END HARM.