Victims to be told when attackers slip out of tracking devices

The head of the state Department of Corrections has ordered that victims of sex crimes must be notified when those convicted of the attack remove their state-issued GPS tracking device.

DOC Secretary Eldon Vail's mandate comes about a week after David Torrence, a Level 3 offender, apparently sliced off his ankle bracelet and vanished from the Snohomish area. The Monroe woman who was assaulted by Torrence is angry with the DOC because she had no idea that the offender was permitted to live near her home.

Anna Aylward, DOC's program administrator, said that since late last year, when the DOC started using global positioning systems to track its most dangerous sex offenders, four of the nearly 90 offenders in the program have managed to remove their ankle bracelets. Of those four, Torrence and James Murphy remain on the loose, she said.

DOC chief says victims will get earlier notice

The Seattle Times

Thu May 1

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