First resident sent to Sodo halfway house

The state's first sex predator to be released from the Special Commitment Center (SCC) on McNeil Island, only to be returned, will become the first to be housed in a controversial halfway house in Seattle's Sodo District.

King County Superior Court Judge Paris Kallas issued an order Thursday that will release 53-year-old Joseph Aqui, who served 20 years for a 1973 burglary and rape conviction, to one of the state's two halfway houses for sex offenders.

The judge placed more than 50 conditions on his release from the SCC, including staying away from pornography.

"There were very particular boundaries set on his behavior, and he will be watched very closely," said King County Deputy Prosecutor David Hackett.

The Sodo halfway house, which is estimated to cost the state about $500,000 per resident, was built in response to a federal-court ruling that ordered the state Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) to help reintegrate residents of the SCC into society. DSHS runs the SCC.

Without such a release process, the judge ruled, the island's center could be considered an unconstitutional extension of prison.

Aqui was convicted of burglary, assault and rape in 1973 and served nearly 20 years in a state prison. As he neared release in 1993, he was civilly committed to the newly formed SCC for four years.

In 1997, a judge ruled that he no longer posed a significant danger to the community and could receive continued sex-offender treatment while living in his Walla Walla home.

The courts ordered him to adhere indefinitely to numerous conditions, including fidelity to his wife and avoiding pornography.

Over the years, court records show Aqui complied with conditions of his release.

In 2001, however, his probation officer discovered he was having a consensual affair with a woman in his church, in violation of his release.

At that time, a judge re-imposed the original conditions of his release but declined to send him back to the SCC.

In 2003, King County prosecutors sought to have Aqui sent back to the SCC, arguing he had violated other conditions of his release by leaving his home without his electronic monitor, researching ways to defeat a polygraph, altering his computer's filters to allow pornography and then lying about it.

Kallas issued a stern warning to Aqui but allowed him to remain in his Walla Walla home.

In 2004, Aqui was returned to the SCC after authorities arrested him on suspicion of violating conditions of release.

DSHS recommended Aqui be released from the SCC. Prosecutors agreed on condition he be sent to the halfway house, and Kallas agreed.

Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com