WHATCOM COUNTY, Wash. — The Washington State Attorney General’s Office filed a petition September 3rd urging a Whatcom County Superior Court judge to civilly commit a sex offender to McNeil Island, preventing his release into the community.
Jake Unick, age 38, pled guilty in Whatcom County Superior Court in 2014 of 2 counts of 1st-degree attempted kidnapping with sexual motivation, 1 count of 1st-degree kidnapping and 1 count of harassment. Unick has been in prison and was due for release on September 5th. On September 3rd, the Attorney General’s Office petitioned to have him committed, alleging he is mentally ill and dangerous.
The civil commitment petition consists of allegations that have not yet been proven in a court of law. A probable cause hearing is scheduled for September 9th to determine whether to confine him at McNeil Island pending a trial.
Prosecutors will have the burden to prove the allegations in court. A jury verdict must be unanimous to continue to detain an individual on McNeil Island as a sexually violent predator.
Washington’s Sexually Violent Predator law allows the state Attorney General’s Office to petition for 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.
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