DOC chief says victims will get earlier notice

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

DOC Secretary Eldon Vail's mandate comes less than 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 raped by Torrence in 1995 when she was 15 said Tuesday that Vail's action is a little late.

"I'm glad they are trying to change their policy, but I can't believe they didn't do it before," said the woman. "I never thought I would be living through this nightmare again. I just hope he goes to prison where he belongs."

The woman said that with Torrence on the loose, she's afraid to leave her house and is worried about the safety of her five children.

Torrence, 43, is one of nearly 90 Level 3 sex offenders who have been assigned to GPS monitoring since the program began late last year, said Anna Aylward, DOC's program administrator. Of those offenders, four removed their ankle bracelets. Two have been caught, and Torrence and James Murphy remain on the loose, she said.

Murphy, 55, who was convicted of third-degree child molestation, somehow removed his ankle bracelet without breaking it and vanished, Aylward said. DOC officers were alerted to Murphy's disappearance from SeaTac in early February, Aylward said.

Torrence 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.

Snohomish County sheriff's deputies said that Torrence's ankle bracelet was found last Wednesday at an apartment complex near Lynnwood.

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, where she lives.

The 29-year-old victim said she learned about Torrence's disappearance through the media.

"I think the Department of Corrections gives you a false sense of security," the woman said.

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

When a bracelet is broken, removed or tampered with, an e-mail notification is automatically sent to DOC.

When Torrence's community-corrections officer learned Thursday that his ankle bracelet had been tampered with, she immediately filed for an arrest warrant, Aylward said.

Jeff Brown, a community-corrections officer in Seattle, said that while offenders can't be stopped from removing bracelets, he considers the GPS program a success.

"It has allowed us to monitor where our clients are, whether they are near parks or playgrounds. It has increased the number of times my clients are going to jail," Brown said, adding that he checks his clients' GPS history frequently. "With that on the ankle, we can pretty much see where they're at."

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