State Of Washington, V Marlowe M. Westra

CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedAugust 11, 2014
Docket71960-2
StatusUnpublished

This text of State Of Washington, V Marlowe M. Westra (State Of Washington, V Marlowe M. Westra) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State Of Washington, V Marlowe M. Westra, (Wash. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON S 30 -£T y>vo

STATE OF WASHINGTON, cz CD 0

DIVISION ONE Respondent, X3» THj—i No. 71960-2-1 ---r* v. 0 UNPUBLISHED OPINION CO - HCT

MARLOWE M. WESTRA,

Appellant. FILED: August 11, 2014

Dwyer, J. — "The [special sex offender sentencing alternative] statute

offers certain offenders the chance to live and work in the community so long as

they comply with treatment and other conditions." State v. Pannell. 173 Wn.2d

222, 234, 267 P.3d 349 (2011); former RCW9.94A.670(10) (2009). Failure to

comply with treatment and special sex offendersentencing alternative (SSOSA)

conditions may result in the deprivation of this "relative freedom." Pannell, 173

Wn.2d at 234. Indeed, a trial court may properly revoke an offender's SSOSA,

even several years into the offender's suspended sentence, for failure to comply

with treatment and SSOSA conditions. State v. Miller, 159 Wn. App. 911, 914,

247 P.3d 457 (2011). Here, more than five years after the trial court granted

Marlowe Westra's SSOSA request and suspended his sentence of confinement,

Westra violated his SSOSA conditions and was described by his former

treatment provider as "an untreated sex offender [who] continues to pose a high No. 71960-2-1/2

risk to the community." The trial court revoked the SSOSA sentence and

imposed the suspended period of incarceration. We affirm.

I

In 2007, Marlowe Westra was charged with and pleaded guilty to two

counts of child molestation in the first degree, in violation of RCW 9A.44.083.1

Westra committed the offenses against his six-year-old twin granddaughters,

Ma.R. and Mi.R. During an appointment with a pediatrician, Westra's

granddaughters revealed that Westra had touched their "vaginal areas,"

sometime between December 12, 2005 and February 3, 2006. Following his

guilty pleas, Westra requested that he be granted a SSOSA sentence.

Although Westra admitted that he had molested other victims prior to

2007, he had no prior felony convictions. Westra molested another

granddaughter, A.R. (Ma.R. and Mi.R.'s older sister), for which he was not

criminally charged. Moreover, Westra admitted that he molested five other

victims, girls between ages six and 10, more than 30 years previously. One of

Westra's five other victims was his daughter, J.W. (Ma.R. and Mi.R.'s mother).

Westra admitted that he molested J.W. when she was five years old. However,

J.W. requested that her father be granted a SSOSA sentence because she

1 Child molestation in the first degree occurs when a "person has, or knowingly causes another person under the age of eighteen to have, sexual contact with anotherwho is less than twelve years old and not married to the perpetrator and the perpetrator is at least thirty-six months older than the victim." RCW 9A.44.083. No. 71960-2-1/3

believed that he would succeed if he were given the opportunity to participate in

treatment.2

In January 2007, Michael Comte, a certified sex offender treatment

provider, conducted Westra's psychosexual evaluation and provided his

treatment plan.3 Comte concluded that Westra was an appropriate candidate for

a SSOSA sentence because, "[d]espite [his] history of child molestation, his

prognosis [was] positive." At the time, Comte's opinion was that, "[i]n the short-

term[,] fear of the consequences [would] motivate [Westra's] conformity and self-

control," and that he would "eventually invest in his therapy, which [would] reduce

long-term reoffense probabilities." The Department of Corrections, in its May

2007 presentence report, also recommended that Westra be granted a SSOSA

sentence.

In September 2007, Westra was sentenced to confinement for 89 months

to life for each of the two counts of child molestation in the first degree, each

sentence to run concurrently. However, the sentencing court granted Westra's

2"The court shall give great weight to the victim's opinion whether the offender should receive a treatment disposition under this section." Former RCW 9.94A.670(4). "Victim" means any person who has sustained emotional, psychological, physical, or financial injury to person or property as a result of the crime charged. "Victim" also means a parent or guardian of a victim who is a minor child unless the parent or guardian is the perpetrator of the offense. Former RCW 9.94A.670(1)(c). 3"If the court finds the offender is eligible for [the SSOSA], the court, on its own motion or the motion of the state or the offender, may order an examination to determine whether the offender is amenable to treatment." Former RCW 9.94A.670(3). "The examiner shall assess and report regarding the offender's amenability to treatment and relative risk to the community." Former RCW 9.94A.670(3)(b).

-3- No. 71960-2-1/4

SSOSA request, suspending all but 171 days of his sentence and ordering that

Westra comply with certain conditions.

Westra was ordered not to have any direct or indirect contact with Ma.R.,

Mi.R., and A.R., "including, but not limited to, personal, verbal, telephonic, written

or contact through a third party for life," without prior written authorization from

his treatment provider or Community Corrections Officer (CCO). Moreover,

Westra was ordered to "[h]ave no contact with any minor (under the age of 18)

without prior written authorization"; "[a]void places where children congregate,"

including "[f]ast-food outlets, libraries, theaters, shopping malls, play grounds and

parks"; and "not frequent establishments where minor children are likely to be

present[,] such as school playgrounds, parks, roller skating rinks, video arcades." Westra was also required to "[u]ndergo and successfully complete an

outpatient sex offender treatment program for a period of 3 years."4 Specifically, he was to attend and complete sexual deviancy treatment with Dr. Daniel

Yanisch, a certified sexual deviancy counselor. Furthermore, Westra was not to

"own, use, or possess a firearm or ammunition." Westra began treatment with

Dr. Yanisch in October 2007.

4 Former RCW 9.94A.670(4)(c) provides that [t]he court shall order treatment for any period up to five years in duration. The court, in its discretion, shall order outpatient sex offender treatment or inpatient sex offender treatment, ifavailable. A community mental health center may not be used for such treatment unless it has an appropriate program designed for sex offendertreatment.

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