Jury denies release of Walla Walla child rapist
A jury in Walla Walla County denied the release of a convicted child rapist after the Washington Attorney General’s Office proved that the man remains dangerous.
Justin Mackey, 42, was convicted of three counts of first-degree child rape in Walla Walla County in 1993. In 2002, he was convicted of third-degree child molestation. In 2008, he was found to be a sexually violent predator and was committed to the state’s Special Commitment Center on McNeil Island, where he remains.
“Washington’s sexually violent predator law allows the state Attorney General’s Office to petition for and defend 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 if released,” according to a news release from the Attorney General’s Office.
When Mackey was awarded an unconditional release trial, which began on Nov. 7, it was up to the AG’s office to prove that Mackey still has a mental condition that makes him likely to reoffend.
Mackey argued that the state could no longer prove he currently meets the sexually violent predator definition.
However, the trial concluded on Friday with the jury’s verdict that the AG’s office had proved that Mackey remains mentally ill and sexually dangerous.
In 1990, Washington became the first state in the nation to pass a law that allowed the involuntary civil commitment of sex offenders after they serve their criminal sentences. The Attorney General Office’s
Sexually Violent Predator Unit was created shortly after.
