In re Det. of Danforth
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In 2006, Petitioner Robert Danforth went to the King County Sheriff’s Office, described his history of sex offenses, and made explicit descriptions of his plans to molest boys and have intercourse with a child. He repeatedly said that he would act on his plan if he was not committed as a sex offender. The King County prosecuting attorney filed a petition to civilly commit Petitioner, but he moved for summary judgment, arguing that his actions did not constitute a "recent overt act" to qualify him for commitment. The trial court denied his motion and the Court of Appeals affirmed. Upon its review, the Supreme Court concluded that a reasonable jury could have found that Petitioner committed a threat when he gave explicit descriptions of his plans to molest boys, and thus satisfied due process requirements that the State show an offender was presently dangerous before he or she was involuntarily committed. Accordingly, the Court affirmed the trial and appellate courts' decisions.
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