'We deserve to have safety on a college campus': UW students concerned by how close sex offenders live
SEATTLE - FOX 13 News is uncovering concerning information regarding sex offenders living feet away from University of Washington students living in off-campus housing.
Crime has plagued the University District neighborhood in Seattle over the last few weeks.
On October 2, four students were hit by gunfire after a fight outside a bar turned into a shooting. The suspect is still on the loose
October 4, Seattle police arrested a man at his home on the 4700 block of 18th Avenue Northeast. The suspect is facing charges of murder and sexually violating human remains.
On October 10, a man assaulted, and used a gun to threaten a University of Washington student inside her off-campus home. That suspect is also still out there.
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Students now tell us they have concerns about the people living on their street.
"It’s disheartening because we come to college like expecting to have safety living on campus. That’s kind of like the bare minimum of what I think we deserve," said Jacqueline Niles.
Niles is a senior at the University of Washington. She lives in off-campus housing along 18th Avenue Northeast.
She and a group of her friends moved into their home back in September. She says when she found out one of her neighbors was accused of murder last week, she decided to investigate the street she lives on.
Niles says she found out some disturbing details.
"It’s not just one or two. It’s like they all banded together to live in a house together," she said.
According to the sex offender registry, 10 offenders live on her block. The offender's convictions include rape, child molesting, sexual battery, child pornography and several others.
Some of the sex offenders living on the street have multiple convictions, which range over a span of decades. However, some of the convictions are as recent as most recent as 2015.
"I ordered two things of pepper spray, and my parents keep texting me asking about how my individual room locks, and if there is bars on my basement window," said Niles.
Niles says she doesn’t understand how Level 2 and Level 3 sex offenders can live so close to a college campus.
FOX 13 News asked officials with the department of corrections this questions.
Officials with the DOC told us that most sex offenders are free to live wherever they want as long as they are not on court ordered supervision. The ones who are on court ordered supervision, may have limitations on where they can live, but it’s a case by case basis.
FOX 13 News also spoke to a property manager who works in the neighborhood. They didn’t want to go on-camera. They said that the U-District is a perfect spot for this kind of activity because rent is cheaper than other parts of the city, and there are a lot of available spaces.
"It’s not fair to us. I feel like we deserve to have safety on a college campus," she said.
Officials with the University of Washington say there are 484 students enrolled at the Seattle campus who are under 18.
UW officials say they have no jurisdiction to limit how close sex offenders live to campus.
Officials with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office tell FOX 13 News in the last three months, they filed charges against 26 sex offenders for failing to register.