Followup: $100,000 bail for sex offender Michael Sean Stanley

One day after the West Seattle arrest of Michael Sean Stanley, the convicted rapist who cut off a monitoring bracelet and fled Canada, he has just appeared in Seattle Municipal Court (via video feed). Our partners at The Seattle Times report that Stanley pleaded not guilty to harassment and that his bail is set at $100,000. Earlier this morning, King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesperson Dan Donohoe told WSB that Stanley has not yet been booked in the alleged Admiral-area sexual assault that police learned about after the initial harassment arrest, so he will not have a bail hearing in that potential case today. Any additional information in the case today will be added to this story. (Photo: King County sex-offender-registry page)

ADDED 1:54 PM: News release about this morning’s hearing, sent by the City Attorney’s Office, which is responsible for the current case:

Seattle Municipal Court Judge Karen Donohue set bail at $100,000 today for registered sex offender Michael Shawn Stanley on a misdemeanor harassment charge filed by the City Attorney’s Office.

CAO asked for the unusually high bail for a misdemeanor based on information from the King County Prosecutor’s Office, which is investigating a separate, alleged sexual assault by Stanley on a teenage male. Stanley, an American citizen, re-entered the United States recently from Canada where he has an extensive sex crimes record. Also, in this state, he has been convicted of first-degree burglary and DUI.

The misdemeanor charge alleges that Stanley, while intoxicated, was making loud noises in an alley behind a residence in West Seattle. When the victim asked him to be quiet, Stanley repeatedly said he would beat the victim up.

The City’s sentencing recommendation is 364 days in jail/274 days suspended, an anti-harassment order and a substance-abuse evaluation plus any recommended follow-up (with Stanley remaining under the court’s jurisdiction for two years).

ADDED 5:51 PM: KING 5 obtained video from Admiral Chevron that they say shows Stanley in the mini-mart there very early yesterday with the teen who told police he had been sexually assaulted. See their report here.

evergreen October 23, 2013 (10:59 am)

Sounds more like it! $1000 was pathetically low, as cited on the prior thread.

newnative October 23, 2013 (11:41 am)

I was hoping the other allegations would lead to more charges.

WSB October 23, 2013 (12:53 pm)

NN, this isn’t to say that they won’t. But the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office can’t do anything until the Seattle Police Department refers the case. I believe at the very least, today’s bail-setting buys some time; he has another court hearing in the misdemeanor case on November 4.

Eric October 23, 2013 (12:17 pm)

That’s 100% better than the $1,000 joke he initially got for bail

q October 23, 2013 (12:29 pm)

Like that pos could even come up with the 1k. They should just chop off his hands and feet and toss him in the sound either way.

I. Ponder October 23, 2013 (1:22 pm)

Isn’t he WANTED in Canada? They don’t really want him and now he’s our $ problem.

Neighbor October 23, 2013 (1:24 pm)

I don’t get how King County Sheriff allowed this dangerous man, who was being monitored in BC to simply waltz around out neighborhood? How is it that after all the determination this person showed, cutting off his tracking, crossing the border, dealing with the press onslaught etc., they were not on him 24/7. Isn’t the motto “Protect and Serve?”

This person is a greater threat than what most people being watched by HLS will ever be yet there is no responsibility for him? He was found near how many preschools, elementary schools, jr and senior high schools, and even right across the street from a retirement home. What are we paying taxes for? They knew about him, they knew the danger he posed.

AG October 23, 2013 (1:31 pm)

WSB, what happens if he bails out in the meantime? He’s clearly a flight risk.

WSB October 23, 2013 (1:45 pm)

That, I’m checking with the City Attorney’s Office. Even more than that, what if he pleaded guilty – what’s the maximum penalty?
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Regarding why he was “allowed” to walk around – Again, and not that I’m defending it, but – he served his time. He’s been out of prison since April 2011. I haven’t been able to find Canadian coverage BEFORE the notorious bracelet-cutting incident, but I would imagine he is under some sort of probation there. But he is a US citizen, and if they don’t want him extradited for cutting off his monitoring device, well, I guess that’s their prerogative, aka, as somebody said, “he’s our problem now.”
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The Times’ story has been updated – http://blogs.seattletimes.com/today/2013/10/45225 – and mentions that the public defender said Stanley had an uncle and cousin “in the area.” No mention of a brother, which somebody brought up in comments yesterday.

evergreen October 23, 2013 (1:37 pm)

Unfortunately, he is a U.S. citizen (not Canadian). Supposedly his sexual crimes, which are many and include children of all ages (including at least one baby) and at least one elderly person, all occurred in Canada. He has even kidnapped kids directly from playgrounds, per the Canadian news sources. He truly is a monster who victimizes indiscriminately. And he is only categorized as a level 2 offender!!!

http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/cross-border-controversy-why-alberta-won-t-try-to-extradite-convicted-sex-offender-1.1495648

ScubaFrogOnAlki October 23, 2013 (1:40 pm)

Sex offenders cannot be rehabilitated. We have GOT to start a 1-strike policy – where ALL sex offenders are held indefinitely in prison after conviction for a sex offense.

Tom Jensesn October 23, 2013 (1:45 pm)

– Neighbor- somehow the KCSO is at fault here? You don’t think that they & SPD & every Law Enforcement Dept. would have liked this cretin off the streets as soon as they found out about him?Re- read the story about him getting out of Canada & what LE here can & cannot do. Actually your statement is too ignorant to deserve more of a response.
Tom Jensen KCSO (retired)

WSB October 23, 2013 (1:54 pm)

Update – the City Attorney’s Office has sent a news release with some additional info; I’ll add it to the story in its entirety within a minute or two. – TR

evergreen October 23, 2013 (1:54 pm)

What is really sad is that he last served only 32 months for the forcible confinement and assault of two boys aged 9 and 13.

chris October 23, 2013 (2:48 pm)

“364 days in jail/274 days suspended” what does this mean? I am obviously not bright cause this looks like minus 10 days in jail.

Seattlite October 23, 2013 (3:27 pm)

He is a pedophile. He is a rapist. He preys on children, teens, adults. He has offended numerous times in Canada and USA. What should USA’s justice system do with this predator? I know what I would do…

AG October 23, 2013 (3:35 pm)

364 in jail with 274 suspended means he’d be physically in jail for 90 days, and “serve” the remainder of 274 days on probation/suspension – so if he committed another crime, the 274days would be added to the new sentence. If he’s caught…

JP October 23, 2013 (3:39 pm)

I agree, $100,000 sounds low for the things he did with innocent people. I question why does he even need to be bailed out instead of lifetime imprisonment. It seems like he clearly prove that he can’t change for his terrible acts with the society.

flimflam October 23, 2013 (5:02 pm)

I realize full well that he is a US citizen, and the explanation of why he is allowed to be here in this country. what I don’t understand is why Canada allowed him to leave their country? he cut off a monitoring bracelet and bailed. how was he not stopped at the border for this?

evergreen October 23, 2013 (5:20 pm)

Flimflam — per the article I cited above, cutting of a bracelet is not an extraditable offense (law made in 1970’s when this technology was not available), so the U.S. legally could not stop a U.S. citizen from crossing the border. In Canada, he is still wanted for the apparently minor offense of cutting off the bracelet (“Breach of Peace”). And honestly, Canada probably doesn’t want him — like us, they have paltry sentencing for sex offenders.

joel October 23, 2013 (5:41 pm)

not sure Canada ‘allowed’ him to leave. the U.S. border let him cross as he’s a U.S. citizen.

leaving a country is not usually the issue…it’s entering the new country that’s the issue and the U.S. allowed him to enter.

K October 23, 2013 (5:52 pm)

I am not following this story because I am afraid for my safety. I am very afraid for more vulnerable peoples safety. It sounds like this person is interested in someone more vulnerable than a 5 foot tall woman.
Oddly enough…right now I have more faith in SPD and/or the Seattle “justice system” than I have had in years. I used to not think of them at all. Then thought they were horrible because they didn’t follow through the way I thought they should have with crime/s.
Today… I am sad that someone was put at risk (the poor kid) but more than happy that they got the bad guy under wraps in what?… 48-72 hrs? Not sure how soon but that’s pretty good time. Also… anything bad against a 16 year old is bad. We don’t know the details. Maybe they were watching him (bad guy) and got there before anything bad happened. I hope the cops are really watching out for us like they seem to be in this case. It is oddly refreshing… to see protecting and serving.
Just my take on the situation.

pwseattle October 23, 2013 (6:43 pm)

I am not terribly familiar with how the law works
regarding bail. But, as this sick deviant pathetic
excuse for a human has recently shown, he is more
than a possible flight risk. He will leave whatever restrictions are placed on him.
Hopefully, a judge can use that information and
place a order to keep him locked up until trial,
without possible bail. Assuming of course he
is charged with this crime, as I expect he will be.

A October 23, 2013 (9:28 pm)

What was a 16yo doing at 2am with a strange man? Where are his parents??!

mkl October 23, 2013 (9:32 pm)

Big thank you to the admiral neighbors who got out of bed in the middle of the night and called 911 about the disturbance. Sometimes it seems like a little thing at the time but it’s key to stopping crime, big and small. And huge huge thank you to the SPD and KCSO for getting on this like hot wax from the minute the story broke.

joel October 23, 2013 (10:15 pm)

What was a 16yo doing at 2am with a strange man? Where are his parents??!…………………..

i believe based on article and all news reports is the boy is homeless

WSB October 23, 2013 (10:18 pm)

The subject of homeless teens in Admiral has come up more than once – often in conjunction with discussions earlier this year about Nickelsville and encampments in spots such as under the Admiral Way Bridge.

Nw mama October 24, 2013 (12:01 am)

Wsb- do you know of any WS specific groups that are trying to do something about these homeless teens in our area? Ana maybe?

WSB October 24, 2013 (12:17 am)

I haven’t been able to get to their last few meetings so I don’t know if the subject has come up. It seems that local churches tend to be the ones who quietly work to help homeless people – they don’t brag about it, they don’t launch fundraising campaigns outside their congregation, and yet I’ve had small windows in recent months into this. So I would wonder if Admiral Church has a ministry/outreach, and I would also suspect that Skate Church might be involved…

ACG October 24, 2013 (12:41 am)

If the 16 year old victim is indeed homeless, I hope he will somehow receive support and help. I hope that someone can encourage him to stay involved in this case- especially if a trial comes around. It would be a shame to have him slip away or is unable to be located for trial and lessen the strength of the case against this guy. I hope that if he is still in our community that he is getting some support and will continue to be supported as (hopefully) this monster gets put away for a long time.
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If he happens to be reading this- please, stay strong and follow through. This entire community is behind you.

Silly goose October 27, 2013 (3:41 pm)

Does anyone know what his connection is to West Seattle, prior to this incident and crossing the border he had committed rape and assault in West Seattle!

Gutfeel October 29, 2013 (8:11 am)

The bad guy is in jail and will most likely have the other charges added to what is already there. What I am befuddled about is everyone’s lack of concern that we have a sizable homeless youth community here in West Seattle and you are only worried about whether the kid will show up to the hearing. And WSB, you don’t know who actively helps groups like this, shame on you! We rely upon you to be our eyes and ears and homeless kids is a huge issue not just a tiny one! We are coming on winter here real soon, aren’t you the least bit worried that they have somewhere to go? We have people that need our help in our supposedly tight knit community! Screw that guy! Focus on things we can change!

Sorry, comment time is over.