Spokane7
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July 14, 2010 in City
Chronic sex offender pleads guilty again
Steven J. Snedden does most of his work in college libraries. Unfortunately, none of his efforts can be characterized as research.
The 47-year-old registered sex offender, whose exploits have helped the Washington Supreme Court define criminal law, pleaded guilty today to yet another charge of indecent exposure stemming from a 2008 incident in which he twice masturbated in front of a student at the JFK Library on the Cheney campus of Eastern Washington University.
He appeared Thursday before Superior Court Judge Maryann Moreno.
Deputy Spokane County Prosecutor Ed Hay told the judge that Snedden has several charges “stemming from quite similar events in college libraries.”
The homeless man, originally from Nebraska, has at least 11 convictions in four states for either lewd conduct or indecent exposure. Those charges got bumped up to second-degree burglary with sexual motivation in 2001 after he continued to visit Gonzaga University’s Foley Library after he had been told not to return.
Snedden pleaded guilty to the 2001 indecent exposure charge, but appealed the burglary conviction on the grounds that exposing himself to someone was not a crime against a person.
According to court documents, Snedden would find a female student studying alone in the library’s periodicals section. He would make a loud noise to get her attention. Then he would sit cross-legged behind a nearby bookshelf and remove enough books to create a clear line of sight between himself and the student. He would expose himself and begin masturbating while maintaining eye contact with the victim.
The case went to the state Supreme Court, which ruled in 2003 that Snedden’s burglary was in fact a crime against a person.
That ruling was the legal highlight of a rap sheet that includes convictions for mostly small-time crimes in California, Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Illinois, Utah, Wyoming and Washington. In late April 2003, after a conviction for obstructing an officer in Spokane, Snedden was extradited to Montana to face indecent exposure charges there, according to newspaper archives.
When he was arrested in the most recent case, Snedden had a warrant for his arrest out of New Mexico for failure to pay fines for an indecent liberties conviction in that state, according to court records.
According to sentencing recommendations announced today, Snedden likely will face another year in prison when Moreno sentences him Sept. 8.
Closing Geiger: Wise or worrisome? 
Shylock13 on July 14 at 9:39 p.m.
After all that, only a year in jail, maybe? He’s an out of control pervert! How many other people will be subjected to his particular sickness? And what about all those folks?????? Do the courts protect the perverts at the expense of the general public??? If so, WHY???????????????????????
mj on July 14 at 10:12 p.m.
Put this sick pri—ck down like he needs. what about the poeple he has scard for life. do thay get a year to get over it?????????this will not stop until he is………
misjustice on July 15 at 11:40 a.m.
He’s a career criminal, a pervert, and a danger to the community at large. I agree with the other individual’s posts that one year is not enough jail time. Send him to McNeil Island where he can cavort with others of his ilk; and KEEP him there. He can dangle his ding-dong all day long there with the other sexual perverts.
soccermother on July 16 at 2:59 p.m.
ONE YEAR!!!! What a crime my 19 year son and his girlfroeind 17 had been sexual active for a few months. She started to control him they broke up she tells the police that he RAPED her. He is now in jail for 10 year and will be a sex offender for life. We need our lawmaker to change the laws so this this does not happen anympre. There are many young men and woman in this situation. There is also an eight year that is a sex offender. We need lawmaker you will work to correct this problem. If you are important you can get off like Mrak Lundsford the police found child prono on his computer and his son in Ohio was charged with a sex crime neither of them made the sex offender label.