The office of the Attorney General of Washington says it is monitoring the situation regarding Michael Sean Stanley and that there is no basis no initiate a criminal investigation at this time.
Customs officials confirm that Stanley crossed over the border into Washington State from B.C. at the Blaine border crossing on October 7.
Police in Alberta say Stanley is a high-risk, violent, sex offender and issued a warning about him earlier this week after he went missing from Edmonton.
Police there were keeping an eye on him with an electronic monitoring bracelet which was found in Lloydminster on October 1.
A Canada-wide warrant was issued for his arrest for breaching the conditions of his release and a man hunt was initiated to locate him.
On Thursday, Edmonton police confirmed that Stanley was in the United States and that he is not in custody.
Chris Hayduk from the EPS Behavioral Assessment Unit said that police here did notify authorities in the U.S. about Stanley but that the warrants are only for Canada and do not extend to the States.
On Friday, the Attorney General of Washington issued a statement to CTV Calgary saying:
The Attorney General of Washington works every day to protect the people of Washington from sexually violent predators. We conduct both criminal prosecutions and civil commitments of sexually violent predators.
We are monitoring the situation regarding Michael Sean Stanley, described in media reports as a Canadian sex offender who has crossed the border into Washington State. At this time, we do not believe there is a basis in law for the Attorney General’s Office to initiate a criminal prosecution or civil commitment proceeding regarding this matter. If the circumstances change or new, relevant facts come to light, we are prepared to take legally appropriate action.
Police in Edmonton say they are talking to the Crown about possible extradition.
