Jeremiah C. Thompson, a 19-year-old Prairie High School senior who allegedly raped a 14-year-old classmate, pleaded not guilty to a charge of rape of a child in the third degree in Clark County Superior Court during an April 20 arraignment.
Thompson, who is a registered sex offender, was arrested April 12 after he allegedly met the 14-year-old victim at the WinCo Foods store next to the Prairie High School campus. According to court documents, the victim then willingly went with Thompson to his house where he proceeded to have intercourse with her.
As a result of this recent incident, several area legislators have voiced their opinions regarding the need for change in the laws that govern schools when it comes to juvenile sex offenders. Currently, Washington State laws prevent school administrators and officials from sharing information about student sex offenders with students or parents.
Rep. Ann Rivers, R-La Center, said she was “completely heartsick” for the parents at the school who are dealing with this and said she plans to reintroduce HB 1208 in the next legislative session. This bill would require parental notification when a Level II or Level III offender enrolls in a school.
“I think it’s important for people to understand that the schools have to follow these rules,” Rivers said. “Battle Ground (School District) did everything precisely as they should have. They are not the ones who are at fault.”
Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama, said he thinks legislators and policy makers need to do something to protect those children in grades K-12.
“People need to understand that if that 14-year-old girl would have known he (Thompson) was a sex offender, she could have made a better decision,” Orcutt said. “Another question is why is a 19 year old going to school with a 14 year old? Is there a better place to educate older student sex offenders? Like a community college?”
Orcutt said he is very interested in working on this issue and correcting the problem, because he said there is a definite problem. He said the community needs to protect their students and he said there has to be some sort of method of letting people know if there is a sex offender in a school.
“The rights of a sex offender should never, never be put ahead of the rights or the safety of the students,” Orcutt said.
After Thompson allegedly raped the 14-year-old victim on April 12, the victim sought medical attention to get a rape kit, according to the court documents. The age of consent in Washington State is 16, which is why this incident is considered a crime.
This case has brought a lot of attention to the schools and the Washington State laws that prevent school administrators from sharing information about student sex offenders with students or parents. According to the State of Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) website, “juvenile sex offenders in Washington have a continued right to a public education after their conviction and many return to public schools after periods of confinement with the Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration or at a county detention facility.”
All registered sex offenders are assigned a risk level on their release, with Level I being the lowest likelihood to re-offend and Level III being the most likely to re-offend. According to the OSPI website, convicted juvenile sex offenders in the State of Washington must register with their local sheriff and must notify the sheriff before attending any public or private school in Washington.
“In the interest of school safety, the law on registration of sex offenders and kidnapping offenders requires that school principals be promptly notified any time a sheriff has information that a registered sex offender intends to enroll in a public of private school,” the OSPI website states. “School principals may only disseminate information about registered sex offenders in accordance with state law RCW 9A.44.130.”
Past offenses
In 2010, Thompson was released from juvenile detention for a previous sex offense and was classified as a Level II offender, which means he was considered a “moderate” risk to the community. Before he returned to Prairie High School that fall, the sheriff notified school district administrators and the principal about Thompson’s status, who then shared the information to any teachers and staff who worked directly with Thompson. However, they were bound by state law to not share that information with anyone else – including parents and teachers.
Although this incident has raised some questions about the state laws, Gregg Herrington, communications director for the Battle Ground School District, said the district office and Prairie High School have actually received very few calls, total, from the public and/or parents about this issue.
“At the district office, I had more media calls than public calls,” Herrington said. “I think the reporting done on this issue ... accurately and fairly made clear that the school district is governed by state law on what it may and may not publicize about its students. Plus, this alleged incident did not happen on school property. That’s probably a factor in the low number of calls we’ve had.”
Thompson has been charged with several other crimes in the past. In 2006, he was charged with theft in the third degree, malicious mischief in the third degree in 2009, assault in the fourth degree against his mother in 2009, possession of marijuana in 2009 and possession of drug paraphernalia in 2009, according to court documents.
After being sentenced in February 2010 for sexually assaulting his mother, Thompson was forced to register as a sex offender. According to court documents, Thompson was charged with attempted rape in the second degree and assault in the fourth degree when he fought against his brother and bit him on the chest when his brother attempted to pull him off his mother and restrain him.
Also in 2010, Thompson accepted a plea deal to a misdemeanor charge of communication with a minor for immoral purposes. This plea deal related to allegations that he molested a 7-year-old girl in 2009.
