Forum: In the News

Thread (Discussion): [KOMO TV] Issaquah to adopt tough new sex offender rules

The city of Issaquah has notified two sex offenders sharing a basement apartment in a neighborhood of single-family homes that they must move by Sept. 1 or face fines of $250 a day.

Kyle Lewis, 28, a Level 3 sex offender who spent five years behind bars after being convicted of first-degree child molestation, said yesterday he doesn't know where he's going to live now. He and his roommate, John Weber, a Level 2 offender also convicted of child molestation, are thinking of "packing up a moving truck and driving to a friend's house somewhere," Lewis said.

"The harsh reality is that nobody wants to rent a place to a sex offender," he said.

Lewis and Weber ignited community protest when they moved to 865 Highwood Drive in June. Residents spoke out at council meetings, saying the Squak Mountain neighborhood had been transformed from a place where children played freely outside to a community enveloped in fear.

In response, the City Council passed a law Aug. 15 restricting Level 2 and 3 sex offenders — considered to have a moderate and high risk, respectively, of reoffending — from living within 1,000 feet of schools and day-care facilities. The law effectively limits them to living on about 15 percent of the city's developable land, mostly in office and commercial zones. About 260 housing units are available in those areas.

Message 159620
Sex offenders: Move or pay $250 per day

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