The Attorney General’s Office has filed a petition in Pierce County Superior Court seeking to civilly commit a Tacoma-area sex offender and prevent his release into the community.

Washington’s Sexually Violent Predator law allows the state Attorney General’s Office to petition for the civil commitment of violent sex offenders who, because of a mental abnormality and/or personality disorder, are proven likely to engage in predatory acts of sexual violence if released.

Thomas Claybrook, 33, was convicted of two sexually violent offenses as a juvenile in 1995: First-degree rape of a child and first-degree child molestation. He was sentenced to 21 to 28 weeks and 8 to 12 weeks, respectively, in a juvenile rehabilitation facility.

In 2009, Claybrook was convicted as an adult of second-degree assault and failure to register as a sex offender and was in prison for those crimes until October 2014.

Prior to his scheduled release, the Attorney General’s Office petitioned to have Claybrook committed as a sexually violent predator. Today a judge found probable cause to commit Claybrook to the state’s Special Commitment Center on McNeil Island pending trial.

The civil commitment petition consists of allegations that have not yet been proven in a court of law.  The State of Washington has the burden to prove the allegations in court.

“The Attorney General’s Office works hard to prevent the release of dangerous sexually violent offenders into our communities,” said Attorney General Bob Ferguson.

In 1990, Washington became the first state in the nation to pass a law permitting the involuntary civil commitment of sex offenders after they have served their criminal sentences. The Attorney General’s SVP Unit was established shortly thereafter.

The AGO SVP unit is responsible for prosecuting sex predator cases for 38 of Washington’s 39 counties (King County being the exception). In Fiscal Year 2014, the unit tried 14 cases, won 9 civil commitments and secured one recommitment. Three trials ended in hung juries and one trial involved an offender who didn’t meet the criteria to be committed as a sexually violent predator.

As of March 2014, 296 sexually violent predators are in the state’s Special Commitment Program.