By Ian Demsky; ian.demsky@thenewstribune.com
Published: 03/18/09 5:25 pm | Updated: 03/18/09 9:17 pm
The superintendent of the state’s Special Commitment Center for sex offenders has resigned, effective May 1. In a letter dated March 12 – released Wednesday to The News Tribune after offenders at the center began phoning the media with the news – Henry Richards announced he was stepping down from the job he took in 2004.
The letter does not say why Richards is leaving, but Department of Social and Health Services spokesman Steve Williams said Richards was returning to private practice and academia.
“It is my belief that as individuals were can best assist our clients and programs toward meaningful change when we are ourselves in transformation,” Richards’ letter reads. “In this spirit, the time has come for me to bring aspects of my professional and personal life, outside the arenas of clinical administration and program management, to a further state of completion.”
The McNeil Island center, which houses and treats civilly committed offenders, garnered unfavorable news coverage last year. “Investigators: Porn, drugs smuggled into center for sexual predators,” one headline from a Seattle TV station read.
Richards was not asked to leave, Williams said. A national search will be conducted for a new superintendent and the position will temporarily be filled by someone who is not vying for the permanent position.
Ian Demsky: 253-597-8872
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