Convicted sex offender sent back to Seattle-area 'pedo island' after removal from halfway house for parole violations

A convicted level 3 sex offender, deemed “one of the worst of the worst” and most likely to re-offend, is back in a prison facility for sex offenders on an island in Washington State after violating terms of his supervised release to a halfway house.

Sexually violent predator, Steven Knapp, was relocated to a Less Restrictive Alternative (LRA) home in Enumclaw, WA in January, sparking a massive public outcry, especially since the facility sits among homes with young children and next to a school bus stop.



Last week, he was sent back to McNeil Island, an incarceration facility for violent sexual predators.

The Washington Department of Corrections told The Post Millennial in a statement, that there were several reasons for Knapp’s removal from the LRA.

Knapp was “in possession of a dowel that had been sharpened at one end that was apparently left by contractors who had been working on a fence on the property. Knapp claimed he needed it for self-defense. He told investigators he faced constant harassment and threats to his safety from the community.”

According to the DOC, “The house has been egged, liquor bottles have been tossed onto the property and recreational vehicles have driven up and down alongside the property simply to create noise.”

“On the night of the Fourth of July, Knapp says he heard a large explosion and suspected someone had thrown fireworks at the house. DOC’s Community Corrections Specialist found the remnants, which appear to be fireworks, but also had duct tape attached. We were unable to determine if it was a simple firework or an improvised explosive device of some kind.”

Knapp claimed that the incident “…further heightened his fear and paranoia.”

Additionally, a Community Corrections Specialist “…found text messages on Knapp’s phone that indicate that a former Special Commitment Center resident who was unconditionally released was regularly driving by the house and waving at Knapp. Knapp is not allowed to have visitors, and while the former resident never entered the house, Knapp should’ve disclosed the texts to the CCS.”

Enumclaw residents were not informed when Knapp, was relocated to the LRA in January. This triggered sparking a massive public outcry, especially since the facility sits among homes with young children and next to a school bus stop.

In May, Democratic Governor Jay Inslee vetoed parts of a bill that would have required tribes and communities to receive advance notice if a sexually violent predator is relocated into their neighborhoods.

Washington Democrats passed legislation in 2021 to amend state law in order to make it easier to distribute the conditionally released sexually violent predators which they refer to as "residents" in counties across the state in an effort to depopulate McNeil Island.

The locations of dozens of other facilities throughout Washington have not yet been revealed but in 2022, 22 sex predators were released to LRAs. The DOC supervises approximately 85 sexually violent predators in 26 community-based LRAs and four secure commitment transfer facilities in King, Pierce, Spokane, Walla Walla, Snohomish, and Kitsap counties, according to MyNorthwest.