Realtor Pushes For Sex-Offender Notification Law Proposal To Legislature Would Require Real Estate Agents To Disclose Whether Prospective Home Buyers Have Been Convicted Of Sex Crimes

Home builder Mike Rabstoff didn’t have any doubts about selling a house to the Grothe family when he met them in August.

Ray and Carol Grothe and their two teenagers seemed a fine addition to Pine Wood Trails, where mostly young families live in affordable, split-level houses. More than 30 children play ball and ride bicycles in the 28-lot development.

But before the Grothe family moved in this past September, the Lacey Police Department circulated a flier warning neighbors that 19-year-old Neal Grothe was a convicted child rapist whose history made it likely he’d offend again.

Parents in Pine Wood Trails were shocked, and so was Rabstoff. Now, he wants to make sure no other neighborhoods face the same problem.

Rabstoff is working with lawmakers on a bill that would require real estate agents to tell sellers when their clients are registered sex offenders. It would be a switch on other laws that require real estate sellers to disclose certain information about their property.

Rabstoff said he had no idea about the Grothe’s son until police circulated the flier.

“We were totally blind-sided,” Rabstoff said. “We had no advance notification that the son, as a member of the family, was a convicted child rapist.”

Rabstoff, who is a Realtor, said he never would have sold them the house if he had known about Neal Grothe’s past.

“I know he has to live somewhere, but what a choice,” he said.

Residents of Pine Wood Trails probably don’t need to be concerned now, because Neal Grothe was jailed again - soon after moving into the family’s home, court documents show. He’s awaiting a civil commitment hearing that could jail him indefinitely.

Still, “Our issue now is just to make sure that laws are written and this kind of damage doesn’t happen to another builder or neighborhood again,” Rabstoff said.

He asked several lawmakers for help. Sen. Jeanine Long, R-Mill Creek, said she plans to introduce such a bill.

But the bill is likely to be opposed by most real estate agents, who say they don’t want responsibility for policing sex offenders.

“That’s not normally information that comes up in a conversation of ‘I’m looking for a 3-bedroom, 2-bath rambler on a cul-de-sac and by the way, I’m a sex offender,”’ said Jonathan Wallace, executive vice president of the Washington Association of Realtors.

It could be hard to uncover people’s criminal histories, Wallace said.

“That would be a burden that I would find extremely hard to overcome if it were placed on the real estate agent themselves,” Wallace added.

Many of the neighbors at Pine Wood Trails feel sympathy toward Neal Grothe, his parents and his 15-year-old sister.

“You want to be Christian and you want to be kind, but your first responsibility is to your children,” said Alice Greco, who has two children.

“What (Rabstoff is) doing to get the law passed is very important,” said Diane Robinson, who lives in the neighborhood with three children ranging from three to 12. “There’s a thing about doing the right thing for the public.”