Victims to be told when attackers slip out of tracking devices

The head of the state Department of Corrections has ordered that victims of sex crimes must be notified when those convicted of the attack remove their state-issued GPS tracking device.

DOC Secretary Eldon Vail's mandate comes about a week after David Torrence, a Level 3 offender, apparently sliced off his ankle bracelet and vanished from the Snohomish area. The Monroe woman who was assaulted by Torrence is angry with the DOC because she had no idea that the offender was permitted to live near her home.

Anna Aylward, DOC's program administrator, said that since late last year, when the DOC started using global positioning systems to track its most dangerous sex offenders, four of the nearly 90 offenders in the program have managed to remove their ankle bracelets. Of those four, Torrence and James Murphy remain on the loose, she said.

Murphy, 55, who was convicted of third-degree child molestation, is believed to have fled to Mexico, Aylward said.

Snohomish County sheriff's deputies and DOC officials have launched a nationwide search for Torrence, Aylward said. The sheriff's office said that Torrence's ankle bracelet was found last Wednesday at an apartment complex near Lynnwood.

Torrence, 43, had been released from prison April 20 after serving a one-year sentence for failing to register as a sex offender. DOC officials were unable to find Torrence adequate housing so he was permitted to live beneath a bridge in Snohomish — only a few miles from the woman he attacked, Aylward said.

The Monroe woman said in an e-mail that she is angry with DOC for not telling her that Torrence was living "within walking distance of my home."

Aylward said the DOC "made an error" in not telling the woman where Torrence had been permitted to live. She said the department also made a records error by telling the woman that Torrence was checking in with DOC officials in Everett, not Monroe.

Aylward said that DOC is investigating.

The Snohomish County Sheriff's Office said they have increased patrols near the Monroe woman's home.

The DOC started using GPS tracking late last year in reaction to Gov. Christine Gregoire's promise to keep people safe from sex predators. Gregoire pushed for changes after 12-year-old Zina Linnik, of Tacoma, was abducted and killed by convicted sex offender Terapon Adhahn.

Offenders who are selected for GPS monitoring are assigned $1,500 worth of equipment, including ankle bracelets, locator boxes charging units. When a bracelet is broken, removed or tampered with an e-mail notification is automatically sent to DOC.

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com