By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – A Lewis County jury concluded yesterday a former Olympia-area truck driver who completed his prison term for raping a hitchhiking teenager should now be held indefinitely as a sexually violent predator.
Mark T. Robinson, 46, was released last year following his 12-year sentence for the knifepoint sexual assault of an 18-year-old girl he picked up at a Spokane truck stop. The teen was headed to Toledo to visit her child and escaped his big rig at an exit on Interstate 5 near her destination.
Mark T. Robinson
The civil commitment trial which began last week in Lewis County Superior Court ended late yesterday afternoon.
Robinson had only one other criminal conviction in his past, patronizing a prostitute, but reportedly confessed to raping dozens of prostitutes in Pierce and King counties during the four to five years before his arrest in the summer of 2000.
He is among a small number of individuals convicted of sex crimes in Washington state where after their criminal sentence is completed, authorities attempt to retain them in custody for treatment until they are no longer dangerous.
Robinson will now return to the McNeil Island Special Commitment Center, where he has been detained since his release. Judge James Lawler signed a warrant of commitment after the verdict.
One of his two lawyers, Martin Mooney, said his client will be locked up until he’s better.
“I say in theory, because I have a cynical view of the nature of the treatment offered at the center,” Mooney said.
The state legislature invented the term, mental abnormality, back in the early 1990s, he said. But it doesn’t have any meaning in psychology, he said.
The process comes from the Community Protection Act of 1990, the first of its kind in the country, that followed a particularly heinous offense against a little boy in Pierce County, according to Mooney.
It’s a controversial law; people think it’s double jeopardy, he said.
“This law is purportedly an offspring of of civl commitment, so it’s that, but it’s not really that, because Mr. Robinson is not mentally ill,” he said.
Mooney said it’s problematic in that a proper client-therapist relationship can hardly develop when the same therapist is providing evidence for the state of why the person should not be released.
Mooney, who works for the Snohomish County Public Defenders Association, was appointed by the state to represent Robinson. He’s been handling these types of cases for about a decade, he said.
Senior Counsel Malcom Ross, of the Office of the Attorney General of Washington, represented the state.
In Robinson’s case, Mooney argued that although he is diagnosed as a sexual sadist, that doesn’t mean he can’t control his behavior. It’s essentially just an “interest,” he said.
Studies show that among rapists, the reoffense rate is essentially the same for sadists and non-sadists, he said. Statistically, among people with Robinson’s profile, the reoffense rate is about 24 percent, he said.
“That may not sound low, but the law is looking at 50 percent, or more likely than not,” he said.
Mooney said his client has undergone treatment, although he didn’t do well according to his therapist.
“But he didn’t get kicked out,” he said.
The then-teenage victim wasn’t among those who testified during Robinson’s commitment trial. She died at age 25, the victim of a homicide at a motel in Wyoming.
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For background, read “Rapist convicted in Lewis County faces indefinite lockup after prison term” from Monday May 21, 2012, here
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
The victim in this case was on her way home from Montana to see her daughter. She was supposed to get a ride from a friend of a friend, but the person who was supposed to pick her up didn’t make it. Somehow, Robinson found out her situation and pretended to be the guy she was waiting for.
As for her being lucky…the poor girl was murdered in 2007 by some creep who drugged her drink, took her to his motel room, raped and then strangled her. It’s as if she was simply destined to die violently. Which is horribly ironic, as she was a sweet, gentle woman who never hurt anyone.
I recently learned about just how many truck stop prostitutes are being murdered every year across the country by truckers. This certainly does not mean to cast aspirsions on this victim or to dengrate truckers as a whole. This girl might have been very lucky to escape without being killed. The numbers are over 200 per year but because they are prostitutes and are spread over the country people do not hear about them or seem to care.
“…Mooney argued that although he is diagnosed as a sexual sadist, that doesn’t mean he can’t control his behavior.”
Right. He chooses not to control his behavior, because he’s an evil bastard.
“Mooney said it’s problematic in that a proper client-therapist relationship can hardly develop when the same therapist is providing evidence for the state of why the person should not be released.”
This implies that we should be more concerned with Robinson’s ‘therapy’ than with keeping the public safe from a predator. I honestly don’t care one little bit for this creep’s well-being, as long as he’s locked away.
“It’s a controversial law; people think it’s double jeopardy, he {Mooney} said.”
What’s controversial is that our sentencing laws are so lax and weak that someone who kidnapped, bound, tortured, and raped a young woman can ever walk free in the first damn place. He should have been given Life Without Parole, not a paltry 12 years. Locking him back up, regardless of the double jeopardy question, is the difference between the Letter of the Law and the Spirit of Justice.