Opinion
No. 54200-1-I
Filed: March 14, 2005 UNPUBLISHED OPINION
Appeal from Superior Court of King County. Docket No. 03-1-07146-0. Judgment or order under review. Date filed: 01/16/2004. Judge signing: Hon. Terry Lukens.
Counsel for Appellant(s), Nielsen Broman Koch Pllc, Attorney at Law, 1908 E Madison St, Seattle, WA 98122.
Eric Broman, Nielsen Broman Koch PLLC, 1908 E Madison St, Seattle, WA 98122-2842.
Catherine Lynn Floit, Attorney at Law, PO Box 27713, Seattle, WA 98165.
Dana M Lind, Nielsen Broman Koch PLLC, 1908 E Madison St, Seattle, WA 98122-2842.
Counsel for Respondent(s), Ian Michael Goodhew, King Co Pros Ofc, 516 3rd Ave, Seattle, WA 98104-2390.
Prosecuting Atty King County, King Co Pros/App Unit Supervisor, W554 King County Courthouse, 516 Third Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104.
This appeal presents a single issue: whether a court may prohibit a defendant from unsupervised contact with minors as a condition of a sentence for failure to register as a sex offender. Finding no error, we affirm.
Background
In 1993, Malcolm Wheeler was convicted as a juvenile of first degree child molestation. Wheeler's sentence required him to register as a sex offender, but contained no prohibition against contact with minors. Wheeler initially complied with the registration requirements. In 2003, the Seattle Police Department conducted a check of Wheeler's last registered address, and discovered he had not lived there since 1999 and had not filed an updated change of address. Wheeler was charged with one count of failure to register as a sex offender in violation of RCW 94A.44.130(10)(a). Wheeler was convicted and sentenced to 30 days of incarceration and 12 months of community custody.
The court also ordered Wheeler to have no unsupervised contact with minors for five years. The court later clarified the sentence with a supplemental order:
The Defendant shall be supervised by an adult who is familiar with the charges [of] failure to register and his underlying juvenile conviction if in the presence of a minor. The Defendant is also prohibited from being in areas where kids are known to congregate. If the adult supervising the Defendant's interaction with minors is someone other than the Defendant's parents, the Defendant shall seek approval of DOC.
Clerk's Papers at 18.
Wheeler appeals the trial court's imposition of the condition prohibiting unsupervised contact with minors.
Discussion
Standard of Review. We review the imposition of crime-related prohibitions for an abuse of discretion. State v. Ancira, 107 Wn. App. 650, 653, 27 P.3d 1246 (2001). We will reverse only if the decision is manifestly unreasonable or based on untenable grounds. State v. Riley, 121 Wn.2d 22, 37, 846 P.2d 1365 (1993).
Wheeler challenges the court's imposition of a five-year prohibition against unsupervised contact with minors. He argues that this condition is not directly related to the crime of failure to register as a sex offender, in violation of RCW 9.94A.505(8). We disagree.
The trial court entered the prohibition regarding contact with minors as a condition of Wheeler's sentence for failing to register. RCW 9.94A.505(8) provides: `As part of any sentence, the court may impose and enforce crime related prohibitions and affirmative conditions as provided in this chapter.' Crime related prohibitions are defined as `an order of the court prohibiting conduct that directly relates to the circumstances of the crime for which the offender has been convicted.' RCW 9.94A.030(12) (emphasis added).
The existence of a relationship between the crime and the condition "will always be subjective, and such issues have traditionally been left to the discretion of the sentencing judge." State v. Parramore, 53 Wn. App. 527, 530, 768 P.2d 530 (1989) (quoting David Boerner, Sentencing in Washington, sec. 4.5 (1985)). No causal link need be established between the condition imposed and the crime committed, so long as the condition relates to the circumstances of the crime. State v. Llamas-Villa, 67 Wn. App. 448, 456, 836 P.2d 239 (1992) (citing Parramore, 53 Wn. App. at 531). In Parramore, the court affirmed a community supervision condition as directly related to his drug conviction, despite the absence of evidence of whether the defendant actually used drugs. Parramore, 53 Wn. App. at 533.
`Circumstance' is defined as `an accompanying or accessory fact.' Black's Law Dictionary 259 (8th ed. 2004). The crime of failure to register cannot exist in a vacuum. Rather, it is inextricably linked to the underlying crime here, first degree child molestation. The nature of Wheeler's underlying conviction was an accessory fact properly considered by the court at sentencing. Thus, the prohibition against unsupervised contact with minors was reasonable because it was directly related to the circumstances of the crime of failure to register.
The State introduced at trial Wheeler's child molestation plea and sentence. The judge was therefore aware of the circumstances of the registration requirement.
Affirmed.
ELLINGTON, COLEMAN and APPELWICK, JJ.