A man deemed a “sexually violent predator” should not be released back on Whidbey Island, a jury in Island County Superior Court decided.
Curtis Brogi, born and raised in Oak Harbor, petitioned the court to be allowed to leave the Special Commitment Center on McNeil Island under a “less-restrictive alternative.” A two-week trial concluded Wednesday with the verdict.
Brogi proposed to live in a home on North Whidbey. Under the plan presented in court, he would wear an ankle bracelet with GPS monitoring and a corrections officer would supervise him. He would also have been required to attend treatment for sex offenders three times a week and treatment for substance once a week.
The state, represented by the Attorney General’s Office, opposed Brogi’s release into the community.
At trial, the state needed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the placement plan under the less-restrictive alternative was not in Brogi’s best interest or that the conditions do not adequately protect the public.
Members of jury could not come to a unanimous decision on whether or not the placement plan was in Brogi’s best interest, but unanimously decided that the plan did not adequately protect the community.
Brogi’s attorneys indicated they would appeal the jury’s decision.
At trial, Brogi’s attorneys argued that an intense treatment plan tailored to their client would serve him better than the restricted treatment options at the commitment center supervised by a revolving door of counselors.
Under the Sexually Violent Predator Act, a “sexually violent predator” is defined as someone who was convicted of a sexually violent crime and has a mental abnormality or personality disorder making it more likely than not that he will commit another sexually violent crime.
After Brogi served a sentence for assault in the second degree with sexual motivation, a jury in 2000 found that he fits the definition and he was civilly committed to McNeil Island.
Brogi committed “numerous acts of sadistic sexual violence against young girls and women” during the 1980s and 1990s, mostly on Whidbey Island, according to the Attorney General’s Office brief on the case.
Brogi was transported back to McNeil Island early Thursday morning.
