Yurt
01-09-2008, 10:35 PM
This makes me sick, wtf is wrong with people? And he has a "devoted" wife....
Violent predator's freedom would be a first
By Jonathan Martin
Seattle Times staff reporter
SHELTON, Mason County — Gary E. Cherry lives a quiet life in Shelton with a devoted wife and two children. He works as a mechanic and bowhunts with his best friend.
But the 49-year-old Cherry is far from average. He's a thrice-convicted rapist, and one of fewer than 300 men in Washington to be labeled a "sexually violent predator."
And as early as next month, Cherry could have an even rarer distinction: he would be the first person ever to fully graduate from the state's Special Commitment Center for sex offenders on McNeil Island and become a completely free man.
It would make Cherry a high-stakes test case for the state. In its 17-year history, no other resident has gained the SCC's full backing for an unconditional discharge. Cherry has gone through eight years of intense treatment at a cost to the public of about $1.2 million.
"If he fails, it would be devastating to the public perception of treatment and the hope that there is a light at the end of the tunnel," said Henry Richards, the SCC's superintendent. "It's unfair, but that's the reality of how it's being viewed."
But Mason County Sheriff Casey Salisbury says he'll be watching Cherry closely.
"I don't think you can ever fix that sort of thing," Salisbury said. "I'm just not buying this stuff [treatment] will make you better."
A history of rape
Cherry was first convicted of rape in 1979 after he raped a woman on an isolated road in Grays Harbor County.
Two other rape convictions followed in 1986 and 1990, also involving strangers and also involving force. He later admitted he'd raped 15 women, committed voyeurism 20 times and made 1,000 obscene phone calls, his court records show.
Just before he was due to get out of prison in 1999, the state moved to send him to the SCC as a sexually violent predator.
...........
:eek:
Cherry said in his evaluation that his wife, whom he married in 1984, is a "a very understanding woman." They have a daughter, 17, who lives at home and knows of her father's history, and a son, 22, who acts as his chaperone on fishing trips.
Cherry's wife described her husband as an attentive mate who shares everything — even his attraction to other women. "We don't really ever fight," she said for the evaluation.
ENOUGH (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004115093_sexoffender09m.html)
Violent predator's freedom would be a first
By Jonathan Martin
Seattle Times staff reporter
SHELTON, Mason County — Gary E. Cherry lives a quiet life in Shelton with a devoted wife and two children. He works as a mechanic and bowhunts with his best friend.
But the 49-year-old Cherry is far from average. He's a thrice-convicted rapist, and one of fewer than 300 men in Washington to be labeled a "sexually violent predator."
And as early as next month, Cherry could have an even rarer distinction: he would be the first person ever to fully graduate from the state's Special Commitment Center for sex offenders on McNeil Island and become a completely free man.
It would make Cherry a high-stakes test case for the state. In its 17-year history, no other resident has gained the SCC's full backing for an unconditional discharge. Cherry has gone through eight years of intense treatment at a cost to the public of about $1.2 million.
"If he fails, it would be devastating to the public perception of treatment and the hope that there is a light at the end of the tunnel," said Henry Richards, the SCC's superintendent. "It's unfair, but that's the reality of how it's being viewed."
But Mason County Sheriff Casey Salisbury says he'll be watching Cherry closely.
"I don't think you can ever fix that sort of thing," Salisbury said. "I'm just not buying this stuff [treatment] will make you better."
A history of rape
Cherry was first convicted of rape in 1979 after he raped a woman on an isolated road in Grays Harbor County.
Two other rape convictions followed in 1986 and 1990, also involving strangers and also involving force. He later admitted he'd raped 15 women, committed voyeurism 20 times and made 1,000 obscene phone calls, his court records show.
Just before he was due to get out of prison in 1999, the state moved to send him to the SCC as a sexually violent predator.
...........
:eek:
Cherry said in his evaluation that his wife, whom he married in 1984, is a "a very understanding woman." They have a daughter, 17, who lives at home and knows of her father's history, and a son, 22, who acts as his chaperone on fishing trips.
Cherry's wife described her husband as an attentive mate who shares everything — even his attraction to other women. "We don't really ever fight," she said for the evaluation.
ENOUGH (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004115093_sexoffender09m.html)