Sex Offender Who Fled Canada Charged With Harassment

UPDATE 10/23/13, 6:20 p.m. PT: According to Dan Donohue, spokesman for the King County prosecutor office, the assault claim against Michael Sean Stanley remains under investigation and has not yet been referred to prosecutors.

Original Post

A man described by Canadian police as a sexually violent predator pleaded not guilty in court on Wednesday morning to the misdemeanor charge of harassment after being arrested on Tuesday in West Seattle.

Michael Sean Stanley, 48, fled Canada earlier this month and legally entered the US through Blaine, Wash., on Oct. 7. He was being monitored after being jailed in 2006 for luring and assaulting two mentally disabled boys, ages 9 and 13. Canadian officials declined to extradite Stanley.

Seattle Police found Stanley in the downtown area last Thursday after receiving a tip and ordered him to register as a sexual offender. Stanley agreed and listed a downtown address but told police that he was transient. Police originally said in a statement they wouldn’t arrest him at the time because he was not wanted by law enforcement in the US.

That changed on Tuesday when, according to Seattle Police Detective Mark Jamieson, Stanley was arrested for harassment in an alley behind the Admiral Theatre in West Seattle. People in the area contacted police complaining that he was loudly intoxicated and making threatening remarks.

After being booked into King County Jail, Seattle Police were informed that a 16-year-old boy accused Stanley of sexually assaulting him. Jamieson said that case is still being investigated and that Stanley will likely be charged with assault by the end of Wednesday after prosecutor review.

Stanley is currently in custody. Bail for the harassment charge was set at $100,000.

Det. Jamieson spoke with The Record’s Marcie Sillman today.

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