Washington state seeks to detain sex offender indefinitely

The Washington state attorney general’s office is attempting to label a Stevens County sex offender a sexually violent predator after the man was jailed several times for probation violations. Officials accuse him of having contact with minors and having relationships with women who had children.

If the state succeeds, Joseph S. Griffith would be detained indefinitely.

Griffith, 34, was convicted of two counts of second-degree rape of a child in Snohomish County in 2000. He also was convicted of second-degree rape and indecent liberties for sexually assaulting a female cousin repeatedly from 1993-95 starting when both he and the victim were 12 years old.

He was released from prison in 2012 and has been living in Stevens County since 2013. He was in jail for violating his probation and was set to be released last week.

On Tuesday a Stevens County judge ruled that there was probable cause to believe that Griffith is a sexually violent predator, according to the attorney general’s office. That means he will remain in jail while the state attempts to have him civilly committed.

Griffith was arrested for violating his probation in September 2013 for leaving Stevens County without permission, being in possession of a firearm and staying overnight with minors without permission. He pleaded guilty to second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm in October 2013 and was sentenced to 22 months in prison.

His probation officer also learned of allegations that Griffith had sexual relationships with a 14-year-old girl and her 17-year-old sister, court documents say. The alleged relationships came to light after Griffith had been sent back to prison when the younger girl was diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease and told her parents about her relationship with Griffith. A charge of third-degree rape of a child was filed against Griffith related to the 14-year-old, but the charge later was dismissed pending further investigation, according to court documents.

He was released from prison in December. In early May he was spotted in a grocery store with a woman and her two young daughters and was arrested again for violating his probation by having contact with minors. He was released in late May and told not to have any contact with the woman, but he was seen at her home in June, according to court documents.

One of the children living in the home told police that Griffith had been spending the night there and that he had been left alone with the children, according to court documents. The woman was reported to Child Protective Services for allowing Griffith to have repeated contact with her children.

Texts on his cellphone also revealed he was dating two other women with children, court records say. Griffiths was arrested again in late June.

Clinical psychologist Henry Richards wrote in a report submitted to the judge that Griffith is “highly psychopathic” and attracted to underage girls.

“He is highly adept at identifying women who have children that may be potential victims and ingratiates himself to them as a romantic partner and with the children as a pseudo-friend and pseudo-parent,” Richards wrote. “He is a sympathetic, amiable character and therefore gains the support of others, including the attribution of trust he does not merit.”