Washington State Settles Over Negligent Oversight of Sexual Predator
As a result of an egregious and ongoing episode of gross negligence on the part of caseworkers and their supervisors responsible for the supervision of Daniel Martineau, a repeat sexual predator, the State of Washington Department of Corrections (DOC) settled quickly in March 2001 for $670,000 with the parents/guardians of a developmentally disabled 23 year-old woman after she was raped by Martineau on two separate occasions.
Martineau, a rapist and pedophile with a long and well-documented history of preying on vulnerable people, including previous sexual crimes against developmentally disabled people, was under the supervision of the DOC for prior sex crimes, had on record over a dozen offenses ranging from proscribed contact with minors to several instances of rape after his release under DOC supervision. All these offenses, plus several other such as non-payment of fines and non-reporting for contact with caseworkers, were each sufficient grounds to violate the terms of his release and get him out of society. That the state failed to do so resulted in, among others, the victimization of the woman in the instant case – a woman with the mental functioning of a twelve year-old.
The victim’s parents alleged in their claim negligent and grossly negligent supervision and enforcement of the terms of prison release in the case of David Martineau, stressing loosely enforced overview, and failure to end his release status in light of multiple violations of a sexual nature as well as administrative violations such as failure to report or pay fines. Plaintiffs also claimed as proximate result to carelessness and neglect in the DOC’s hiring of incompetent and/or lazy staff, the injuries, both physical and mental/emotional, sustained by their daughter: she was an innocent, baffled and distraught as to why her “friend” would hurt her like that. See: State of Washington, Division of Risk Management, Claim No: 31050327, Filed March 15, 2001; Case No: 99-2-01854-8, Benton Co. Superior Court.
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Related legal case
State of Washington, Division of Risk Management
| Year | 2001 |
|---|---|
| Cite | Claim No: 31050327, Filed March 15, 2001; Case No: 99-2-01854-8, Benton Co. Superior Court |
| Level | Administrative Agency |
| Conclusion | Settlement |
| Damages | 670,000 |
| Injunction Status | N/A |