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A convicted rapist serving a six-month sentence in the Skagit County Jail was released Sunday, six days early, to make room for a new inmate.
Shaun Holt of Mount Vernon also got the standard 60-day early release, effectively reducing his served time to four months.
While the 60-day sentence reduction was routine, the extra six days of freedom was a consequence of the jail’s chronic overcrowding, Jail Chief Gary Shand said.
The jail has 180 beds but housed on average 191 inmates the week prior to Holt’s release.
Shand said his officers release felons earlier than scheduled only as a last resort.
“What we do is go down the list and see who we can release with the least amount of impact on their charges and still create a space. Felonies are the last ones we like to release,” Shand said.
Holt qualified for the extra-early release because he was not a discipline problem, Shand said. Also, jail staff will release inmates with longer sentences ahead of those with shorter sentences, because the proportion of the sentence lost is smaller.
Shand said the jail does not keep track of how many felons it releases ahead of schedule.
Holt, 22, was sentenced on Jan. 18 to six months in jail for rape, assault and indecent liberties. His victim was a 21-year-old mentally handicapped woman. Initially, Holt faced 10 counts related to alleged sexual attacks on three victims, all of whom were developmentally disabled. The county prosecutor dropped the charges related to two of the victims as part of a plea agreement.
Holt pulled out of the agreement one day prior to his sentencing, amending his guilty plea so he could qualify for the special sex-offender sentencing alternative. Instead of sentencing Holt to eight years, as the prosecutor had recommended, Judge Susan Cook gave Holt the six-month sentence and put him in a sex-offender treatment program for five years.
The mother of Holt’s victim expected Holt to stay behind bars for six full months and was surprised when she got a phone message Sunday night informing her of his release.
What’s shocking about Holt’s short incarceration, the victim’s mother said, is the severity of his crimes. Holt bound his victim despite her tearful protests and raped her several times, according to court documents.
“He got three months for bondage, torture and raping of three disabled people. It just doesn’t seem right, does it?” said the victim’s mother, who was referring to the two other victims who were not included in the final charges.
The victim’s mother met with County Prosecutor Rich Weyrich on Monday to urge him to place additional restrictions on Holt’s activities while out of jail.
Weyrich said he filed a brief Wednesday asking Judge Cook to restrict Holt from having contact with developmentally disabled or mentally handicapped people.
Cook is likely to consider Weyrich’s request next week, the prosecutor said.
The Department of Corrections has already restricted Holt from contact with “potentially vulnerable victims,” meaning people with handicaps, said Gregg Freeman, supervisor of the Mount Vernon Corrections office. The department also has barred Holt from the town of La Conner, Freeman said.
“We’ve got a pretty tight net around him,” he said.
Cook’s order forbids Holt from frequenting areas where children gather and from having access to computers, among other restrictions.
Holt registered as a sex offender shortly after his release, Skagit County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Will Reichardt said. The Sheriff’s Office has not yet determined Holt’s sex-offense level, Reichardt said.
Holt is required to report to his corrections officer once a week, and he is subject to weekly home visits, Corrections officials said. He must also set up a treatment plan with a sex-offense treatment provider.
• Ralph Schwartz can be reached at 360-416-2138 or .
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